The former Cranberry fire hall in Powell River has a new owner.
After School District 47 finalized an agreement with the City this past Friday, January 22nd, it purchased the property for $500,000.
“This is a government to government transaction, and we are happy to have completed a deal with our partners at the school district who have need of the facility,” says Mayor Dave Formosa.
“Being a Crown Grant property, the use of the property is restricted to fire hall, school and ancillary education purposes only. Since it is no longer used as a fire hall, the only other logical owner is the school district.”
Under Crown Grant rules, the City wasn’t able to sell the land the building rests on for a profit. However, it’ll transfer ownership of the land to SD47 as part of the transaction.
“This property will be an asset to us and the sale a bonus for the City,” says SD47’s Dale Lawson. “We have been leasing a portion of the building from the City for a number of years now to house and maintain our school bus and vehicle fleet.”
Lawson says securing the facility will not only help the school district save money, but will also provide some additional space for other programs.
According to councillor Maggie Hathaway, the City stopped using the property as a fire hall back in 1994. She adds that all proceeds from the sale will be placed in the City’s Land Sale Reserve.
