Community Living to Buy Former Central Frontenac Township Office

A rumour started circulating a few weeks ago that Community-Living North Frontenac, (CLNF) which moved its office to the former St. Lawrence College Employment Centre office on Garrett Street in Sharbot Lake, was going to buy the vacated Central Frontenac office building for office space.

The current community living office, which the agency has occupied since May, is a rented space. 

Central Frontenac Council formally declared their now vacated office surplus a few weeks ago, clearing it for sale. Central Frontenac's Chief Administrative Officer, Cathy MacMunn, told the News that the building was for sale, under the condition that the new owner would permit the Sharbot Lake Library to remain in place, on the lower level of the building that is accessed from a separate entrance on Robert Street.

Central Frontenac Council held an in camera meeting at the end of the regular council meeting last week (September 23) and after that meeting CAO MacMunn reported that Council has decided to accept the offer of purchase from the Board of Directors of Community-Living North Frontenac for the building. No other details about the sale have been released at this time.

This is just the latest in a series of properties that Community-Living North Frontenac, through its board of directors, has purchased in the Sharbot Lake area in recent years. The first was the building now occupied by the Treasure Trunk, and the rental unit next to it. Since then, at least five other buildings in Sharbot Lake have been purchased, and are being occupied by clients of the agency. The former Community-Living office building was converted into rental space this summer after the agency's office was relocated to the former employment centre.

“With many supported clientele struggling with housing issues, it was a natural to rent those units to support a couple of these clients and use the rental money to cover mortgage costs of the building,” CLNF Executive Director Dean Walsh told the Frontenac News in April of this year.

Walsh was approached when rumours of the pending purchase of the former township office surfaced in August, but he declined to comment at that time.

Dean Walsh was not available early this week to speak to whether the purchased building will become office space for CLNF, or will be converted to more housing. He returns from vacation later this week.

The sale of the building was earmarked by Cathy MacMunn as part of a strategy to sell off surplus property in order to cover the purchase price of the Simonett building, $1.6 million, without using money from property taxation.