The former Monsignor Uyen Catholic School in Chatham has changed hands again.
The building was sold to J. Robert Myers in Trust for $1.61 million in August 2023.
Myers told CK News Today the vacant building was sold to a new, unidentified owner and the deal closed in late December.
The property on Lark Street in Chatham became controversial after rumours started circulating that it was becoming a homeless shelter, forcing the municipality and the ownership group to set the record straight in October 2023 by saying the rumours were false and the building was not turning into a homeless shelter.
Myers said it was the right time to sell after some unwarranted backlash from the public.
"After we purchased it we had a lot of unnecessary flack from some people in the neighborhood and at the same time as this was happening, we were approached about reselling it and felt that we did not need the aggravation of doing this development," said Myers. "We have no idea who purchased it or what plans they have in mind as to what they're doing with it."
The surplus school was on the market for several years before the local private ownership group bought it this summer.
The school building and property were declared surplus to the needs of the school board in 2019 and offered for sale to a list of preferred public sector agents at fair market value, but there were no expressions of interest from the preferred agents.
The school was then offered to the general public in November 2021 and three bids were received when the process closed in December, said the school board. However, the trustees opted not to accept any of the offers at that time and the property was listed for sale again.
It was put up for sale again in July 2023 with a list price of $750,000 and Myers was the highest bid out of six offers received.