Picton Town Hall is well on its way to becoming the “Hall for All” that many community members have been wishing for.
The Picton Town Hall Board of Management is estimating the building’s economic and community value to Prince Edward County post-pandemic could be almost $8 million.
Members of the board gave an update on the hall’s progress to Committee of the Whole Thursday.
Kevin Reid-Morris told council that one of their mandates – a thriving Farmers Market – has lived up to its promise.
The Sunday event is attracting more than 400 visitors each week with 90% of them being County residents.
Reid-Morris says the 40-plus vendors who have already been represented at the market want more.
“They actually are demanding that we operate the market in more seasons, longer throughout the year. And we’re developing and delivering revenue directly to their pockets – that’s in the six-figure mark and growing.”
He also told council while they have yet to secure a long term tenant for the lower level, they hope to have one in place by this December which still puts them well ahead of their June 2022 target
There is still a lot of interest from community groups looking to rent the upper level even though it is still closed due to the pandemic.
Reid-Morris suggested that even if they only deliver on 50% of their current plan, the hall still holds a lot of value for the community.
“I think that’s still an enormous benefit, and so that, you know, there’s kind of one way to look at it which is, okay, the lower the portion of that value that we deliver, is that still sufficient value for us to be and I think that the answer here is clearly yes.”
Councillor Bill Roberts expressed some concern about the cost of getting the building to reach its full potential and asked about the possibility of a public private partnership.
Reid-Morris says while that’s not something they’re pursuing at this time, it is not off the table.
