Parliament Oak School property in Niagara-on-the-Lake has been sold and it's not to the town.
The school which became the subject of a war of words between its owner, the District School Board of Niagara and the town of NOTL has been sold to a developer.
DSBN Trustees have agreed to sell the property at 325 King Street to Liberty Sites.
The deal is valued at $4.9 million dollars.
This is good news for DSBN students,” explained Dale Robinson, Chair of the Board. “The proceeds of this sale will be used to upgrade our school facilities and best serve our students.”
Board Vice-Chair Kevin Maves stated that the Board is pleased with the manner in which the sale was conducted, noting it was done in accordance with all broader public sector guidelines.
According to its website, Liberty Sites Ltd. is one of Canada’s leading private suburban business park developers, with properties in Quebec and British Columbia.
A dispute over the sale of the property started last year when the town offered to buy the property, and then negotiations fell apart.
The province even stepped in and offered to provide a facilitator to expedite the deal between the town and the board.
But in a letter to the province and to the town's Mayor, board chair Dale Robinson says school trustees voted to reject the offer because it may seem as prejudicing the open tender process.
The town's offer to buy Parliament Oak was rejected by the board and a decision was made to put the school up for sale on the open market.
The deal to sell the property to the town hit an impasse after Niagara on the Lake council refused to promise the building would be maintained as a community hub, the property would not be flipped and it would not be used by a private education provider.