The province of Ontario has renewed the lease agreement with the Town of Fort Frances to rent the vacated OPP building. The extension came after the OPP moved to their new location on McIrvine Road.
Cody Vangel, chief building officer and municipal planner for the Town of Fort Frances, said the province has contacted the town about usage of the vacated OPP building. However, neither the nature nor the timeline of the project completion is made public.
Vangel said the town has an internal idea on the use of the building, but that information is not to be made public yet.
“The most information I can provide at this time is that the province will still be utilizing this base for another use in the near future,” Vangel said. “I cannot provide any information yet as they are still working on some of the logistics and details prior to moving into the facility.”
The lease extension agreement was made December 1, 2020 and is effective until May 31, 2026. This is the fourth lease agreement made between the province and the town since the first one was signed in 2001.
The annual rent of the vacated OPP building is $167,422.38. This is paid in equal monthly instalments of $13,951.87 on the first day of each month.
Vangel said renovations to the vacated building are to be determined with the full scope of the new use for the tenant.
“We have not seen any plans or drawings yet and nothing has been brought into our attention as far as building permits,” Vangel said. “We are still waiting to see what that will look like. We certainly welcome renovations if necessary. It is totally up to the [province] on what they choose to do there.”
In terms of timeline, Vangel also said the town has not been given one.
“It has been pretty quiet with information and correspondence back to us,” Vangel said. “With things around COVID, the [province] is moving things a little bit slower than anticipated. They have not been in too much conversation with us recently to depict a timeline for moving in and utilizing the space.”
Vangel added that the province will probably make an announcement prior to the town. Once the information is made public, Vangel said the town will notify Fort Frances residents about the nature of the new facility.
