Algonquin College’s Perth Campus listed for sale

Algonquin College’s 12.5-acre campus in Perth was listed for sale, but some hope to keep the school open. CTV’s Dylan Dyson reports.

The historic Algonquin College Perth Campus is for sale, as the college begins to wind down operations at its campus in Perth, Ont.

A listing on CBRE shows the 12.34-acre campus on Craig Street is for sale on behalf of Algonquin College, and the sale price is negotiable. The campus is located 1.3 kilometres from downtown Perth.

According to the listing, the site has four buildings totalling 43,221 sq. ft. of net rentable area and approximately seven acres of land is deemed developable.

“The Property is being used by the Seller until August 31, 2026. The Seller is open to an earlier closing with a sale-lease back of the Property,” the listing said.

“The Property is being offered unpriced and the Seller is entertaining offers as they come in. The Seller reserves the right to impose a Bid Date if it deems it in its best interest.”

The property includes Building A with 24,645 sq. ft. of office space, Building B with 17,579 sq. ft. of net rentable area, Building D is a storage building with 2,486 sq. ft. of area, and Building E is a freestanding office building with 3,081 sq. ft. of net rentable area, the listing says.

Algonquin College’s board of directors voted in February to close the Perth Campus, as it dealt with a multi-million-dollar budget deficit.

The Perth Campus first opened in 1970 and has capacity for 350 students. There were 132 full-time students enrolled in the college last spring.

In August, a community group launched a campaign to “Save the Perth Campus of Algonquin College.” Former Shopify COO Toby Shannan proposed transforming the campus into a new, non-profit centre for heritage construction and skilled trades education.

“We would like to purchase the college and turn it into a not for profit, heritage vocational trades college,” Shannan told CTV News Ottawa.

“It’s an enormous part of our community. Culturally, economically, losing the college will just be a real blow to the community,” he said.

Shannan says he envisions a future where the college is self-sustaining.

“I wouldn’t make any money off of it. No one would make money off it. But the goal would be for the college to be self-perpetuating so it could be profitable, but that profit would be poured back into the college,” Shannan said.

“The proposal is for Algonquin College and the provincial government to work with the community and with Mr. Shannan to realize this new vision for the Perth College,” said a media release from the group Save Perth Campus.

Former Algonquin College student and professor Andy Cockburn said, “The college is an important asset for the region, for local trades and for the community at large.”

“For over 40 years, the Perth Campus has been a hub for Heritage and Construction trades training, attracting students from all over Canada, the United States and the world,” Cockburn, the past president of the Lanark-Leeds Home Builders’ Association, said.

“The very worthy goal of saving the campus and in keeping skilled trades education alive and thriving in Perth is paramount. Whatever energies I can dedicate to this effort, I’ll happily do that.”

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Dylan Dyson.