The Grey Sauble Conservation Authority will be temporarily relocating to office space in Owen Sound in 2025.
At its meeting on Jan. 22, the authority’s board of directors approved a plan to spend $75,000 to lease 3,800 square feet of office space in Owen Sound for most of 2025. The relocation is required after the board approved moving forward with a $3 million project to renovate and upgrade the authority’s administration centre just outside of Owen Sound near Inglis Falls.
“We can’t stay here while they’re doing that work. We have to relocate for a little bit of time,” CAO Tim Lanthier explained.
The CAO said authority staff have been shopping around for temporary space in Owen Sound to accommodate the organization’s staff during the renovation work. The authority has space on its grounds for temporary storage of some of the office’s contents during the renovation.
The location of the temporary offices was not revealed during the meeting, as the authority is still involved with negotiations with the property owner.
In addition to approving the money for temporary office space, the board of directors also approved spending $7,200 to pay for staff parking while the offices are located in Owen Sound.
The renovation project will see the authority’s office, which was built in the mid 1970s, upgraded to become fully accessible with a more functional space with upgraded offices and staff work areas. A lift will be added to allow full accessibility for both of the building floors.
The authority’s board of directors approved taking the office renovation designs from 80 per cent complete to fully designed in order for the project to move ahead. The tender for the project will be posted in February 2025 and will close in mid-March. The authority expects to relocate to the temporary office in March/April, with construction beginning in late April. Construction is expected to be complete between Dec. 2025 and March 2026.
Lanthier explained that the lease agreement for the temporary office space will include provisions to extend the term should the construction run longer than expected.