The end of an era at Marguerite Knapp building
Tenants begin the search for new accommodations
Because of the deteriorating condition of 257 Queen Street, what was once a hub of services for Englishspeakers will soon have to close its doors.
The community organizations currently sharing space in the building have been advised by the Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB), owner of the property, to begin the search for new accommodations. “We don’t have funding to repair the building,” said ETSB Chairman Mike Murray. “It needs significant reinvestment to be restored to an adequate
state,” he said, adding that regular maintenance of the building is a significant expense for the board.
“The tenants have been made aware of the dilemma and have been told to look for alternatives.”
Murray said that the board hasn’t adopted a formal resolution yet regarding the future of the building, but will likely do so in one of its upcoming meetings.
While happy to provide space at a reasonable rate for what has become a onestop shop for resources and services for English Townshippers, Murray said the condition of the building has reached a point where the board is thinking of disposing of the property in the long-term.
Townshippers’ Association President Gerald Cutting said the Marguerite Knapp building would be a hard act to follow, but was optimistic about finding new quarters.
“It was the place for things English,” Cutting said, explaining there was many a time there were mutual referrals among the organizations in the building.
“It’s not a surprise,” commented Cutting, saying the association knew there would be a time, given the state of the building, that this day would come.
“We’re in search mode at the moment,” he said.
The tenants include Townshippers’ Association, the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network (QAHN), Mental Health Estrie, Townshippers’ Research and Cultural Foundation, the Lennoxville and District Women’s Centre, The Townships Sun and the Township Regional Union of Support Staff.
While sticking together would be the ideal scenario, Cutting said the various organizations have to be realistic about the situation. With so many must-haves in terms of location, space and accessibility, a number of the groups will likely go their separate ways.
“We’re really thankful,” Cutting said, for the time spent at 257 Queen.
Thanks to a partnership and rental arrangement with the ETSB well below commercial rates, Cutting said Townshippers’ was able to devote more of its base grants that would normally be used on rent for other services for the community.
Cutting said the association will hold an executive meeting in the coming weeks to wrestle with the various options.
The Marguerite Knapp building is the former head office of the ETSB. Its previous tenants also included The Record briefly when the paper needed an office following the fire in 1999.