Women's shelter 'disappointed' old school sold to developer

The local Catholic school board's decision to sell an old building to a developer instead of an overflowing women's shelter is a "disappointing blow" for the non-profit organization.

Sleeping mats can be found on the ground at the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women because it's overcapacity. And moving into a larger space has been an "urgent need" for many months.

"Obviously it's disappointing. You take a minute to reflect and cry, and then you pull up your big girl pants and realize the need is still there," said executive director Lady Laforet.

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Detailed drawings were created and a rough renovation budget was identified to transform the old St. John Catholic School on Grove Avenue into a suitable shelter. Laforet said they offered exactly what the Catholic school board was asking — $599,000. There was also a financing condition attached.

But the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board selected a higher, all-cash offer from a developer with no conditions, according to Laforet.

When you put a small, non-profit in a position of competing with multiple developers who have no conditions and cash on-hand, we're definitely at a disadvantage.-  Lady Laforet, Executive Director, Welcome Centre Shelter for Women

"When you put a small, non-profit in a position of competing with multiple developers who have no conditions and cash on-hand, we're definitely at a disadvantage," said Laforet.

The Catholic school board will not say how much they received for the property or who purchased it.

"I'm not going to disclose that, those are all in-camera items," said board chairperson Barb Holland.

She's referring to an in-camera meeting earlier this month where all offers were considered for the sale of St. John Catholic School. Holland said she also appreciates community organizations, such as the women's shelter, that are trying to live up to their mandate.

"But our mandate and our first primary priority is to our students, and that is to ensure that they have what they need in order to learn and be successful," Holland said. "And that is what school boards are called to do, what trustees are called to do, and that is to get fair market value for our assets and then to funnel those monies back into programming for students."

Fair dealings

Laforet doesn't have any concerns that the process was followed by the Catholic school board. She believes the shelter was caught in a perfect storm with a hot real estate market, combined with new city incentives for developers to take over old buildings.

"I think all things considered the school board does what it can with the process," said Laforet. "Would I like [it where] the non-profit would always get chosen first, yes. I think in this case it would have been something that would have had long-term, positive impact."

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The Ministry of Education has a strict policy about how school boards dispose of surplus assets before it hits the open market. Other school boards are required to be notified first, followed by a prioritized list of entities. Those include colleges, universities, public health boards, Indigenous organizations, health integration networks and others.

However, a non-profit such as the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women is not one of those prioritized entities, and must compete like any other bidder when a property is put up for sale.

The women's shelter hopes to have a shortlist of other potential properties ready in January. Afterwards, they're looking to move quickly on making an offer.