Arthur building eyed for OPP tactical training as Kenilworth school faces demolition

Wellington North council awards demolition contract for former Sacred Heart School in Mount Forest

KENILWORTH – Tactical training for OPP officers is likely coming to Arthur with Wellington North council deciding to level the former Sacred Heart School in Kenilworth. On July 13, council approved rezoning for a back portion of 493 Eliza Street in Arthur, owned by David Kroft, to allow for police training in an existing building. Infrastructure Ontario applied to rezone the 1.42-acre portion with police training there pending an appeal period.

A planning report suggests a 9,800-square-foot building will be built out, including classrooms, a gym, offices, storage and locker rooms. Car wash bays on the front portion of the property would be unaffected. The former Kenilworth school, at 9135 Highway 6, was purchased by the township in 2010.

It has been leased by the OPP since and used for police training. For just as long, councils have mulled getting rid of the 3.7-acre property. Old Kenilworth school used for OPP training ‘beyond its useful life’ The former Sacred Heart School located at 9135 Highway 6 here could be demolished within the next few years, council heard at a Dec. 19 meeting.

The building was purchased by the township in 2010 and for over a decade has been leased for OPP training. In 2013, the In 2017, council was warned by then-CAO Mike Givens that the old school was “nearing its end.” Township chief building official Darren Jones followed up in 2022, telling council the lease would not be renewed after 2025 with the building “beyond its useful life.”

Earlier this year council decided to keep the property and demolish the building, with the $280,000 job awarded to Flamborough-based IQ Environmental at its July 13 meeting. The demolition was budgeted at $375,000. The property will be seeded and fenced off as the township determines its future through a facilities master plan study, expected to begin in August, township CAO Brooke Lambert told the Advertiser .

Lambert anticipates the study will culminate in an early-2027 report, with public consultation beforehand. Demolition of the school could begin later this summer, Lambert said.