After more than three years of negotiations between the Ashcroft HUB Society and Gold Trail School District (SD74), the society has announced that as of July 31, 2024 they will own the former Ashcroft Elementary School building and property at 711 Hill Street outright.
At their January 2021 meeting, the Board of Trustees of SD74 voted to start the disposal process for the site, which has been leased to the HUB Society since summer 2015. That was when a group of community volunteers formed the society, after the elementary school was permanently closed by the school district in June 2015.
With Ashcroft Secondary School turned into the K–12 Desert Sands Community School, the volunteers envisioned turning the elementary school building into a community centre for a variety of groups and activities catering to all ages.
Nine years later, the HUB now hosts everything from Early Years playgroups for those aged 0 to 5 to weekly community coffee sessions for seniors. There is a full-service gym, a dance studio, and a music rehearsal room, as well as space for yoga, music lessons, community meetings and dinners, theatre, summer camps, arts and crafts, and more. Earlier this year, the Government of Canada announced the recipients of Canada’s Volunteer Awards for 2023, and the Ashcroft HUB Society was a recipient in the Social Innovator category.
A community consultation process in early 2021 received overwhelmingly positive feedback about the HUB and the work of the society, and in March 2021 the SD74 trustees voted to dispose of the property to the society for a “nominal fee”. A sales contract was received by the society in 2022, and negotiations were ongoing for the next two years.
In September 2023, SD74 decided to see if any other government entities were interested in the property. A report was supposed to come back to the school district in January 2024, and in April of this year SD74 came back to the HUB Society.
“There has been a lot of discussion since then,” says HUB executive director Jessica Clement, adding that there is relief that the question of ownership has been settled.
“We’re not being kicked out. There’s a sense of ownership. The building is ours and the community’s now, and we can do what we want with it.”
SD74’s new superintendent, Vessy Mochikas, says that as a new community member she is looking forward to taking advantage of everything the HUB has to offer.
“My impression is that the HUB is the heartbeat of Ashcroft, and I’m impressed to hear about the wide variety of programs and services they offer to a wide variety of ages. It feels good knowing that the district is handing the building over to such a great group. As a school building it promoted health and well-being and improved things for kids, and I’m glad they offer so many services for people to come together and be well.”
Clement says that taking over ownership of the property comes with both pros and cons. The HUB Society — which is a registered charity — has been responsible for paying for hydro, gas, insurance, and other expenses over the last nine years, but will now be responsible for all the costs associated with a “giant” building, parts of which are more than 60 years old. “Now, if something breaks down, it’s ours to deal with.”
Chief among the “pros” is the ability to apply for capital grants so that they can address known issues. “We’ll be able to get some capital projects going,” says Clement. “The roof needs total replacement eventually, and the HVAC system is completely dead in one area of the building and needs replacing in the other five areas.
“Grant funders don’t want to spend that amount of money when [the building] isn’t yours. And they won’t give a grant to replace a school roof, but they can give a grant to replace a non-profit’s roof.”
Clement adds that up until now, SD74 has managed the sprinkler system on the playing field and mowed the lawn. She says that the Society has no plans to sell the playing field (“We like it, and it gets used”), so they are hoping to be able to form some kind of reciprocal association with the Village of Ashcroft for grounds maintenance.
She says that the change in ownership won’t make any difference to what people see at the HUB. “We’ll still be offering all we do. Nothing will physically change.”
Clement is also thankful that it took as long as it did to sort out the ownership question, noting that the HUB Society struggled during the pandemic, when they had to postpone, cancel, or cut back many of their regular offerings.
“Now we’re in a position to be able to actually take over building. Three years ago we weren’t in that position, and would have struggled to do so. We used $100,000 of our savings to stay open and provide what we did during COVID.”
Thanks to an anonymous donor, the HUB Society is starting a fundraising matching campaign, which starts now and runs through the end of 2024.
“The donor will match all donations up to $50,000 during the campaign,” says Clement. “We’re a registered charity, so people can get a tax receipt, and all funds will be put into our capital reserve fund. Not all grants are 100 per cent, so we want to have some funds for our contribution to grant-funded projects.” For more information, contact the HUB at (250) 453-9177 or email ashcrofthub@gmail.com.
Mochikas says that she’s excited about the developments at the HUB, given how central it is to the community.
“I did some research before I came here, so I know it was moms looking to keep the building alive, and it’s very impressive what they have to offer.
“I know the board [of trustees] and the HUB have been working hard on this, and it looks fantastic. I’m looking forward to their continued growth, and am in awe of all they have done. I see people of all ages coming and going there, and it’s serving the purposes of all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons as a place where you go for well-being.”
