OSA booted out of Shatford
Okanagan School of the Arts kicked out of Shatford Centre
Chelsea Powrie - Jun 3, 2020
After ten years calling the Shatford Centre in Penticton home, the Okanagan School of the Arts has been told to be out by the end of the month.
According to a news release from the OSA, landlord School District 67 rejected a proposal to move forward in a partnership and declined to extend their lease.
"The terms of our lease were that we leased the building from the school district for $1 a year, but we covered all expenses, all utilities, which of course in a building this age and size is not inexpensive," said OSA executive director Kim Palmer, who explained that COVID-19 saw revenues from rentals and events drop to zero.
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So we were hoping to enter into a partnership agreement where the school district would help us with those expenses."
But the OSA says the response was "please vacate."
“We are now facing the enormous task of emptying the building in a very compressed timeframe,” Palmer said. “The Shatford is filled with valuable and specialized equipment, including pianos, commercial kitchen appliances, and a wide variety of art supplies. At the moment, we don’t know where it will go.
(School District 67 board chair James) Palanio said there are no plans to use the Shatford Centre for any other purposes or rent it out to other tenants at this time.
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Right now we're just going to close the doors."
From Castanet