Building with a purpose: North Bay business owners finding new life for old buildings.

AuthorKelly, Lindsay
PositionDesign-Build

Before she moved her business into its current location in the heart of North Bay, realtor Sue Symons would often park outside the unused building and dream of what it could be. It had long since outgrown its use as an elementary school and sat vacant, just waiting for a new purpose.

"I just loved the building, and we were actively looking for space, but to find the right space that'll give you growth, that's the right location, with enough parking and all of that took a little time," said Symons, owner and broker of record at Royal LePage North Bay Real Estate Services. "So I was pretty excited when the school board decided to sell this."

The 8,900-square-foot building, constructed around 1963, came up for tender in November, 2015, and Symons successfully bid to purchase it, taking possession on Dec. 18. But with its location in a residential area, the property had to first be rezoned for commercial use, and Symons spent most of 2016 going through the rezoning process.

Repurposing old buildings for different uses is nothing new. But in North Bay, as in other Northern communities, commercial land is becoming scarcer, and so business owners are getting creative in tracking down their ideal property.

In North Bay, Symons said with people having fewer children, and congregations shrinking, an abundance of schools and churches have come up for sale, particularly in the last two years. Savvy business owners know that a hidden gem could be waiting in one of these properties.

"Building (new) is quite costly, and in some cases, building brand new makes sense, depending on what your business is, or if you're an industrial or commercial business and you need a specific factory," said Symons, who estimated building new would have cost her three times what she spent refurbishing the school.

"For us, if it's not going to be a school anymore, what would be the best use of this building? Offices."

After getting approvals in place, Symons set a lightning fast timeline of three and a half months for the refurbishment's completion. Acting as her own general contractor, Symons hired all local trades people and purchased local supplies wherever possible.

"Everybody that worked on site was supportive of my timeline, respectful of my budget, and gave me respect knowing that I was new to this," said Symons, who hadn't before taken on a commercial project like this.

Symons met her timeline, getting occupancy on Nov. 29, and moving in two days later.

But the search...

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