Tenants of the historic Gravelbourg Convent, which include an artisan co-operative, a community music centre, a yoga studio, and several businesses, have been given until March 31 to vacate the premises.
The decision was taken at a Town of Gravelbourg council meeting on Feb. 21 during a discussion of the 2023 budget. It was reaffirmed by council at their meeting on March 7 despite a presentation by concerned residents and tenants.
The council’s Request for Decision (RFD) document from Feb. 21 shows that rent paid by the Convent’s tenants amounted to just over $16,000 in 2022, while the building’s maintenance costs were $55,000 — over half of that cost was heating. Those costs are rising regularly because of the convent’s age.
Further background on the decision includes years of trying to create a renewal plan for the 75,000 sq. ft. building, which was built from 1916 to 1926 to house the Sisters of Jesus & Mary.
In Nov. 2022, town council decided to issue another request for ideas in the form of Expressions of Interest (EOI). The initial submission deadline for those EOIs was Feb. 24 — the submission period has since been extended to March 31.
Anna Smandych, president of the Gravelbourg Artisan Co-op (GAC), led the tenant group which presented on March 7 in an attempt to change council’s mind.
“The gist of our feelings was, yeah, it was a shock, because that (EOI request) went out, and we were pretty hopeful that somebody would buy it or have an idea,” Smandych said. “I did not foresee us being evicted just because they don’t want to pay the heating costs.
“It is a fact that there is nowhere for us to go. There are other organizations and home-based businesses and whatnot that would love a physical, brick-and-mortar space, and they can’t find them either. So now, there’s 9 more businesses on top of those already existing people that are looking for spaces that don’t exist.”
MooseJawToday.com spoke with Gravelbourg councillor Teresa Williams to get the town council's perspective and will publish that article shortly.
Smandych said she wouldn’t mind the eviction notice so much if it meant that the beloved convent was going to be usefully developed and re-purposed. The fact that it is going to sit empty and continue to decay doesn’t sit well with her.
“I think for the majority, seeing something great happen with the convent, something that would be good for the entire town, (we’d) still be in that same position where there’s nowhere to go, but at least something good is happening,” she explained.
“Maybe some jobs are coming, maybe they make it into housing, or we all get together to make a multi-use community space … If it was something good for all, I think it wouldn’t be such a huge bummer to be kicked out.”
Smandych noted that for the businesses and community organizations being told to leave the Gravelbourg Convent, the issue is existential. If they cannot exist in the convent, they might not exist anywhere, and that would a huge loss to the town, she said.
“A group like the GAC, we didn’t have a physical space for the first couple of years. It was difficult, but we made it work. Some of these other people have nowhere to go, they really don’t.”
A statement released by the GAC on March 8 said that tenants hoped to be given until September to find a solution — or at least have more preparation for finding new locations.
“Letting us continue to rent our spaces until September would allow for a smoother transition for the small businesses, artists and non-profit groups that occupy the convent,” the release stated. With that request denied, it continued:
“Moving day is fast approaching. If anyone out there has a place to put an art co-op, a community music centre, a quilting machine, a nail salon, a seamstress who is also a prof, a couple art studios who hold classes and workshops, a yoga studio, and other small businesses, please reach out to us at gac@artisancoop.ca and we'll pass on your ideas.”
