The Town of Kingsville says its expression of interest to purchase two vacant schools has been denied by the province.
Kingsville District High School, Kingsville Public School (KPS) and Jack Miner Public School were all vacated in June 2024 following the opening of the newly built Erie Migration District School in September 2024.
Earlier this year, council directed staff to express interest in purchasing the high school and KPS and include a proposal to build attainable housing and create public use spaces.
Under new provincial rules, municipalities cannot automatically purchase closed schools. They must now either compete in the open market or purchase for a "provincial priority" such as affordable housing or long-term care facilities.
The town says it heard back from the province on Tuesday that its expression of interest had not been accepted, and they were not provided any reasoning for the denial.
Mayor Dennis Rogers said this was not the news they were hoping for.
"We're still digging in to the why and try and get an answer. Our goal was always to build homes and that was apart of a preliminary vision that we had had for those properties so, just understanding the why. That's kind of where we're at right now," he said.
Rogers said he's reached out to Essex MPP Anthony Leardi who is reportedly helping dig into the why.
The town said it was their understanding that the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) may now list the properties for sale on the open market.
"At this point the kind of direction we got is we can obviously be part of the open bid system. So now that will be a formal council decision whether we want to go about that route," said Rogers.
He said the intent of purchasing the properties was to also have some control in what was constructed there.
"The last thing that we would want is someone to come in and they buy it and then they sit on it for a number of years, right? So that's one thing that you have seen in other areas where someone buys a property and the financial pieces don't make sense, and the economy is not there, and to have those two buildings sit there I think would be a detriment to our community," said Rogers.
The Town had previously set aside approximately $3-million to potentially acquire the properties.
As of July 2024, the fair market value of the high school was valued at $2.4-million, and KPS was valued at $1.3-million.
-With files from AM800's Meagan Delaurier