Brant County considering ‘public-private partnership’ for Bawcutt Centre

The historic Bawcutt Centre, built in 1854 and believed to be Canada’s oldest surviving example of public neo-Gothic architecture, is once again the focus of redevelopment hopes as Brant County seeks a public-private partnership to breathe new life into the landmark.

Celeste Percy-Beauregard

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Brant County is looking for a partner to breathe life back into a piece of Canadian architectural history.

The municipality is inviting people to submit expressions of interest for a “public-private partnership” which would “support the redevelopment of the Bawcutt Centre,” according to the municipality’s bids and tenders page.

The former Paris Town Hall was built in 1854 and is thought to be the oldest surviving example of public neo-Gothic architecture in Canada.

The county purchased the building in 2016 with a donation from former Paris resident and “Degrassi” franchise co-creator Linda Schuyler.

It was to become a community hub and the new main branch library.

However, in January, the nearly $40-million project died over a lack of parking spaces, leaving its future up in the air.

The county will accept proposals until Sept. 30, after which staff plan to bring proposals back to council, Zach Gable, the county’s director of economic development and tourism, told the heritage committee earlier this month.

The municipality is saying to the private sector “we’re interested in solutions to help redevelop the Bawcutt Centre. We don’t exactly know what that looks like, and we want to identify someone to work with,” he said.

As a first step, the county is soliciting people to submit ideas of what a partnership could look like.

The overall vision is for a redevelopment which “celebrates and expands the arts and culture sectors while serving the broader community,” the bid description says.

As of late last week, 17 companies had accessed the plan.

The municipality is considering a similar proposal from a local developer for the new main public library branch. 

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Celeste Percy-Beauregard’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report on stories about Brant County.