Historic Courthouse and Jail

The City purchased the former County Courthouse in 1960 and acquired the former Jail facility in 2013.  These buildings are located at 1235 and 1259 3rd Avenue East.  The Courthouse is located at 1235 3rd Avenue East and the jail buildings, jail walls and two-storey redbrick Governor's Residence are located at 1259 3rd Avenue East.

The Courthouse is designated under the Ontario Heritage Act for reasons of architectural and contextual value and interest and the Jail property is on the City’s Heritage Register.  The buildings became vacant in 2014 and the City has declared the buildings and property surplus and has the lands listed for sale.  Through the listing process, the Jail buildings and structures were identified as being a potential barrier to redevelopment of the lands.  In December 2018, the City published a request for proposals for a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) and Demolition Approvals Plan for the County Courthouse and Jail properties.

Taylor Hazell Architects (THA) was the successful bidder for the completion of the HIA and Demolition Approvals Plan as commissioned by the City.  THA engaged the services of Tacoma Engineering for the structural assessment of buildings and structures being considered for retention or demolition.  THA has completed a Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report (CHER) for the Jail property and a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) to assess the impact of removal of some or all of the buildings from the Jail property.  These documents were presented to the Community Services Committee on January 15, 2020.  Though the demolition of the Courthouse is not being considered through this process, it merits note that demolition of designated and listed buildings requires a decision from Council and statutory notice in accordance with the Ontario Heritage Act. 

The HIA assesses the impact of four options for removal of one or more of the buildings on the Jail property.  The options are as follows:

1. Remove the Governor's Residence and miscellaneous outbuildings; retain and conserve in a mothballed state, the 1854 and 1869 Jail and Jail Yard walls.
2. Remove the Governor's Residence, miscellaneous outbuildings and the 1854 Jail.  The 1869 Jail and Jail Yard walls would be retained and conserved in a mothballed state.
3. Remove the Governor's Residence, miscellaneous outbuildings, the 1854 Jail and some or all of the Jail Yard walls.  The 1869 Jail would be retained and conserved in a mothballed state.
4. Remove all buildings from the property, including the Jail Yard walls.
5. The Community Services Committee also requested that Council consider a fifth option of retaining all of the Jail property buildings.

The HIA outlines mitigation measures that are recommended if any one of the above-mentioned options are selected.  The HIA also sets out a series of general recommendations, including further technical studies that are required.