A bright future ahead for the Colchester School House property.
The site on Bagot Street was declared surplus and the town had planned on selling it — that's when a group of concerned citizens stepped up.
The newly formed Heritage Colchester rolled out its plan Monday night for council.
The group aims to restore the school built in 1881 to its former glory while converting it to multi-use community space.
Perry Basden is with Heritage Colchester and says it's a win-win for his group and the town.
"We are going to try and move forward with the use of the school house for public uses, a tourist attraction and it'll relieve the Town of Essex from the cost involved in such a restoration as we can apply for funding that the Town of Essex can't apply for for various reasons," he says.
Councillor Joe Garon says Heritage Colchester has put together a great proposal for the property.
"I applaud the efforts of the newly formed committee. I feel optimistic, at this point, that the future of the school house is real and that there is going to be a new use that will materialize. So at least today we have a better plan for that school house property than we had previous years and previous to this," he says.
Councillor Steve Bjorkman says it's clear the members of Heritage Colchester care.
"Very dedicated people, a very dedicated group that are sticking to their plan and to their word that they were going to come out and do the work. Whatever we can do as the town, we need to get on board. That corner is the history of Southwestern Ontario. That's where it started 228 years ago," says Bjorkman.
Last month, council heard from a developer interested in transforming the site into a 14-unit boutique hotel while preserving the school house, but that plan was scrapped due to community push back.
Heritage Colchester is in the process of securing registered charitable status.