Local residents will soon have a chance to walk through history and get a glimpse into the future.
A public open house at the old Fergus high school on July 26 will showcase the building as the future home of Emmanuel Christian High School.
Currently the Christian high school shares space with Maranatha Christian School and the junior high Emmanuel Christian High School on Garafraxa Street east of Fergus.
Eric Van Grootheest, a member of the high school building committee, recently contacted the Wellington Advertiser about the July 26 open house.
“Anyone who wants to can just wander through the old high school for nostalgia reasons,” said Van Grootheest.
A barbecue with hotdogs and hamburgers is planned for the event as well.
“Any donations to assist in the restoration work would be fantastic,” Van Grootheest added.
The total cost of the project is slated at $4.7 million and the total square footage will be 43,000 square feet, Van Grootheest said.
Earlier this year, the property at the corner of Belsyde Avenue West and Tower Street South sold for $935,000 after being vacant for nearly a decade.
“The original school will be maintained as much as possible in the original manner,” Van Grootheest said.
The original 1928 school building is about 20,000 square feet in size and sits on 2.33 acres. It is designated under the Heritage Act to ensure its protection, however the building will be retrofitted to be fully accessible and a huge gym will be added to the north side of the building.
“We’ll be able to hand out some brochures explaining the plans – where and when it is going to happen,” Van Grootheest said of the July 26 open house.
“A lot of us went to that high school, so we were talking about the idea of an open house, because a lot of people had approached us asking if they could take a look to see how it is now.” He added, “When we thought about it, we thought a lot of other Fergus residents might want to have a look through it.”
Van Grootheest said there are a number of people his age who had gone there.
“I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls about what is happening and when it is going to happen.” He said whoever is interested can come for a visit and someone will be there to explain it to them.
“They can see how it looks now, and we will have a grand opening when the work is all done.” He stressed there is still lots of parking at the site.
Access is off Tower Street/Highway 6.
