The Bawcutt Centre

Wingbury Properties (WIngbury) is acting as the project manager for the County of Brant and utilizing their expertise in renovating historical buildings for commercial and public use. The best example of this is the 1889 Wincey Mills in Downtown Paris which has been renovated as a marketplace and commercial office spaces. Wingbury will also work to secure a 3^rd party tenant to operate a proposed events space which significantly decreases the County’s expenditure.

Wingbury is donating its time to provide these services and is not financially benefiting form this arrangement.

The total project cost is $9.5 Million and Council has committed the funding to ensure the project moves forward. This cost is roughly $ 5 Million less than the estimated cost of the County completing this work without Wingbury. The resolution approved by Council  also directs staff to investigate all funding opportunities at senior levels of government through grants to further reduce this cost.

As a part of the project approval resolution, Council directed staff to investigate all funding opportunities including grants and community fundraising. Fundraising opportunities have been limited without a secured future for the building, and Council authorizing the funds required for the building to be renovated provides a better chance to undertake fundraising efforts. Beside the original $1 million donation in 2015, limited fundraising has occurred, but the County will be developing a fundraising program to assist with the total project and recognize interested community donors.

Council approved a maximum budget of $9.5 million, and any funding above that will require further Council approval. That said, both the County and Wingbury are committed to completing the work within the approved funding amount and will evaluate reductions in the scope of the project to accomplish this. Further, the project carries a contingency budget to address any potential issues that may arise.

It is envisioned the upper floor will operate as an event space operated by a third party – this is intended to reduce costs to the municipality. The County will retain  access to the upper floor during non-peak times and the main floor is intended to be solely dedicated for County uses.

The previous plan for the new main branch of the County of Brant Public Library included a large addition and a total area of 39,000ft2, whereas the proposed plan includes a small addition to house required improvements, for a total area of less than 10,000ft2.

A total of 40 parking spaces were proposed for the Library project (27 parking spaces on site, along with 13 on-street parking), while this proposal with a reduced footprint can accommodate 61 parking spaces on site and 17 on-street spaces adjacent to the building, for a total of 78.

The plan for the new main branch for the County of Brant Public Library project proved to be unviable due to the incapability for a large addition on the site, and significant cost escalation of the project as the projected costs escalated from an original estimate of $12.5 million in 2021, to a total project cost exceeding $41 million after tenders were received in late 2024. Following Council’s decisions in early 2025 related to the total project cost and the site compatibility through the zoning amendment, further evaluation of the site as the Central Branch Library was not revisited.

The project upholds the gifting agreement by creation of a space dedicated to arts and culture, and community use. Within the gifting agreement the County is permitted to explore commercial opportunities to reduce operating costs, and contains mechanisms to allow the County as the owner and operator to have day to day authority. The proposal was presented to the The Bawcutt Centre Advisory Committee at its meeting on May 12, 2026, which is a key aspect of the gifting agreement, where it was endorsed unanimously.

The property is currently heritage designated, a link to the designation can be found here. As with any municipal heritage properties, any alterations to heritage features are subject to obtaining a heritage permit that is review by the Heritage Advisory committee with Council having the authority to authorize the alterations. A priority of the renovation project will be to focus on the restoration of the areas and features covered in the current heritage designation (e.g. the upper hall beams and cross bracings, windows, etc.) while working to replace non-heritage elements with more cost effective measures.

More information will be released shortly. Previous reports have proprietary information from the Expression of Interest process that cannot be released.

Staff are working to finalize details and will work through the approval process with Wingbury. The building must follow all applicable planning act and Ontario building code Requirements. There is some substantial work that needs to happen in advance of winter including a new roof. It is anticipated that the design and renovation of the building will take 18-24 months, and the building will open for public use sometime in 2028 in advance of its 175^th anniversary in 2029. Updates on the project will be shared as they become available.

This proposal was presented to both The Bawcutt Centre Advisory Committee on May 12, 2026, and to Council on May 26, 2026 by the proponent. As this related to a potential disposition of the property through a lease agreement, along with direction to staff from both the Advisory Committee and Council, these discussions were held in-camera as per the Municipal Act.