City Approves Sale of Old Civic Museum

It appears that the arts community in Guelph has cause to celebrate, as the sale of the Civic Museum to a company that plans on turning the space into a multipurpose arts centre has been approved. It's one of several proposals by local arts groups to build an arts centre in the core, but it's the first one to get approval. 

Here's the press release from the City:

GUELPH, ON, July 6, 2012– The City has accepted Tyrcathlen Partners Ltd.'s offer to buy the former Guelph Civic Museum property, located at 6 Dublin Street.

"Tyrcathlen Partners are excited and thankful Guelph City Council endorsed its vision of creating a centre for arts, culture and new media in the former Guelph Civic Museum building," said Kirk Roberts, a principal of Tyrcathlen Partners. "Our next step is to work with leaders in the Guelph arts community to transform our vision into reality."

The agreement with Tyrcathlen is conditional on inspections and is scheduled to close October 31.  The purchase price will remain confidential until the deal closes.

In 1980, 6 Dublin Street South became the home of the Guelph Civic Museum. Earlier this year, with City, provincial and federal government funding, the museum was relocated to 52 Norfolk Street — a facility that is almost three times the size of the 6 Dublin Street location.