MINDEMOYA—With a new roof to be put on the Mindemoya Old School as early as this winter, and responses Friends of the Mindemoya Old School (FOMOS) have received from artists, artisans, and crafters to leasing space in the Artists Hub portion of the building, things are looking positive for the operation of the hub starting in 2024.
“We have had a couple of information sessions for interested artists, artisans and crafters and we are quite happy with the numbers that attended,” said Alison McAllister, of FOMOS. “It has been pretty positive so far in regard to the number of artists, artisans and crafters who have come forward and the commitment they have made to lease out space, especially when you consider the building is not yet open and operational.”
“So far we have had seven artists, artisans, crafters that have committed to leasing space on the main level of the building (artists’ hub),” said Ms. McAllister. She said almost half of the entire space has already been committed. “We will provide space for them and sell their products on their behalf, or they can opt to sell the products in the space they have, on their own. So far, it seems most are in favour of FOMOS selling the products for them. The key for all of them is the opportunity to sell their hand made products.”
“We have been successful in getting funds to replace the roof,” said Ms. McAllister noting that the Douglas Smith Family Foundation has put in funds for this by donating to the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario which will hold money in trust for FOMOS for the roof. “If people want to support and donate funds towards our project and donate over $100, they can get a tax receipt from ACO.” She pointed out FOMOS is hopeful of having the new roof installed by this winter.
“We are hopeful of being open and operational next year,” said Ms. McAllister. She pointed out a lot of the work that needs to be done on the school is interior. “We are not making a lot of proposed changes to the building. One of the main changes on the main floor is that we are adding a barrier lift on the main floor so it can be accessible to everyone. This has been a concern for us; we want to expand accessibility in the building.”
She explained as part of the lease that FOMOS has with Central Manitoulin they provide quarterly updates to the property committee and did so last week.
“Basically, we were letting the committee know that since we last met, we had an update on redoing the roof,” said Ms. McAllister. “We had to have an engineer’s report carried out and received a thumbs up to this.” She pointed out the property committee will receive conceptual drawings at a meeting in October.
“We are in the process of getting someone to put the roof up,” stated Ms. McAllister.
FOMOS has been working with the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) for about 18 months, hoping for financial assistance in the form of grants, and through the federal Green Inclusive Buildings Program (GIBP). We had applied for funding in the spring, but it takes a little while to have the funding proposals considered and hopefully approved.”
