Despite being denied a federal Housing Accelerator grant to realize its vision for the Queen Elizabeth school, Council moved ahead this spring with the $1.5 million purchase of the Centennial-era building, closed and declared surplus in 2018.

That was a risk, as there was no budget for the purchase. But it turns out a large, 4.5 acre property in the centre of historic Picton is as attractive an opportunity as it should be. Five developers have formally expressed an interest in repurposing the 36,000 square foot school and surrounding land.

The initial proposals came to Planning last week. They come from both not-for-profits and private corporations, but Council and staff are priotizing a community hub and affordable housing development.

The municipality wants a repurposed building to house a variety of public agencies in need of not just office space, but the sense of community a collaborative hub could provide. The County’s child care, public health, arts, and youth services agencies have been lining up for space. The surrounding property, meanwhile, is suitable for a mix of affordable and social housing.

Housing Director Adam Goheen reported the most promising proposal came from New View Holdings. Already working to advance two other mixed-market housing projects in Picton, New View offered  $1.5 million to purchase the property, and to build three four-storey buildings with 246 rental apartments. Rents would split the units approximately 50-50 between market and affordable rates. 

The proposal entails replacing the school with a 12,000 square foot community hub — one third the size of the existing school. New View would work with the County to select community agency tenants and lease on a cost-recovery basis. Occupancy could be as soon as 2027.

Most affordable

Quinte’s Isle Non-Profit Housing Corporation’s proposal was next. It suggests deeply affordable housing units, which would attract social services funding to support a rent-to-income support model, as well as supportive or special needs housing created in partnership with the Prince Edward Learning Centre, Community Living Prince Edward, and Alternatives for Women.

But the agency doesn’t have a development partner. Yet. 

“There is an opportunity here, however, for the County to facilitate discussions between Quinte’s Isle and other EOI respondents to determine whether a potential partnership between the housing provider and a developer could be forged,” Director Goheen said.

The three other proposals came from commercial firms: A3 Partners, Port Picton Homes, and Sterling Homes. All submissions contained varying levels of detail on potential housing matrices and community hub solutions.  

“Council must not be drawn into thinking that high-density, for-profit housing is requisite for the site. 
You hold the power to control the use of the property through the zoning and 
you have viable community partners who want to occupy 80 per cent of the current building. That aligns with your original accepted uses.”

—Tim Johnson, a near neighbour

Community Input

A handful of neighbouring residents and interested parties provided comments on the motion. David Middleton of Centre Street asked council to involve the surrounding community in the discussion. He suggested a community garden at the site as a way to connect new residents to the neighbours. 

Barb Mason of the local Community Gardens group also advocated for space within the property to create an installation similar to that at Delhi Park.

Tim Johnson, also of Centre Street, noted affordable housing was a priority. But he wondered if the proposals were too focussed on high-density housing rather than the original goal, a collaborative community hub. He noted the property is zoned Institutional and would require rezoning to realize many of the Expressions of Interest.

Next Steps

Council directed all EOI respondents to further refine their proposals in consultation with Housing and Development Services staff and to consult the community.

Staff will return with a final recommendation to enter into an agreement with a suitable private sector or non-profit partner no later than Nov. 1. 

A decision must be made in time for 2025 budget deliberations in December. Whatever is going to happen at Queen E needs to happen by early 2025 so Council’s initial $1.5 million outlay can be recouped.

Director Goheen explained that after the County was denied a Housing Accelerator grant, it was a near certainty a partnership with private sector or non-profit investors would mean greater intensification of the property than originally envisioned, likely in the form of mixed-market residential units in a multi-storey arrangement to make the project economically viable.

With one exception, that scenario is playing itself out. The County laid out four key objectives to gauge the initial EOI submissions: affordable housing percentage, the amount of community hub floor space, recovery of municipal investment and timeframe.