DRYDEN — A former Albert Street church building in Dryden was torn down this week.
The building was purchased by Community Living Dryden-Sioux Lookout because it said it had outgrown its current space.
Sherry Baum, the organization's executive director, said the original plan was to renovate and add on to the existing building.
“In the process of drawing up plans and working with engineers and working with our builders, it was discovered that the building didn’t meet present building codes,” she said. “We had plans to retain some of the buttresses, retain some of the character and also that was part of the engineering dilemma. Building standards have changed and whenever you go and renovate a building, you have to bring everything up to code.”
Baum said “[we] would have had to do substantial underpinning to be able to add on and build what we were planning to do.”
She said there was also asbestos that would have needed to be addressed.
So the agency decided to build the exact footprint of the building as designed, she said.
"Except that we just demolished the old building and we’re just starting from scratch that’s all.”
Community Living Dryden-Sioux Lookout sent out an open letter on social media this week explaining the reason for the change of plans.
“We recognize in a small community, in a small city that buildings hold memories for people. I’ve sort of been following people sharing memories of the building. This is what community is all about,” Baum said. “So we value and are sensitive to people’s memories of the building itself.”
But she noted the building had not been used for some time.
“We’re bringing the spot to new life, and we really value being at the centre of our small city, where everybody else is,” she said.
Baum said they want to be in the heart of a community and their current office is tucked away at the end of a side street.
“It doesn’t really speak to what we believe about being part of an inclusive community,” she said.
“I hope people embrace the fact that we’re an agency that supports vulnerable people and we’re committed to our community and to the partners in our community and we’re just really delighted to have this opportunity to be in the heart of the city.”
Community Living supports adults with developmental disabilities with programs like supported independent living, community accommodation homes, community participation, and supported employment.
Baum said they have about 140 staff between Dryden and Sioux Lookout, with over 60 percent in Dryden, which outgrew the office there a few years ago.
“I’m going to be really honest, I don’t have an office,” she said. “I’m the executive director and I don’t have an office in Dryden, but I use whatever office is available. Two people took over my office because they didn’t have space. They needed it.“
She said the new building will house administrative staff, managers, clinical video conference coordinators, and staff in the supportive employment [program]. It will also have a substantial training space. She expects all of the Dryden staff of up to 100 will use the building at different times when it’s completed.
Baum said the change in plans won’t result in any additional cost.
“Because of the mitigation [of asbestos] that we would have had to have done, it would have cost more. So we’re actually going to have some cost savings that make up for what we’re losing,” she said. “We already knew there was asbestos in the building and we already knew that there was a substantial part that we needed to take apart and demolish.”
She said the nearly $3 million project should be ready for construction in Spring. She said project is still behind because of COVID and was supposed to start last year.
Baum said while material costs have come down, there are still long wait times for ordering materials, which is the reason for the site preparation.
“That’s why we’re getting everything ready now,” she said.
