Okanagan School of Arts has lease extended to avoid end of month eviction

Talks between the City of Penticton, School District 67 and the Okanagan School of Arts has helped the entities come to terms for an amicable transition as the art school is evicted from the Shatford Centre.

The City has agreed to cover the art school’s cost of insurance and City-supplied utilities totalling around $17,291 and the school district is giving the art school an extension of two months to make its transition out of the Shatford Centre.

The current lease would have expired on June 30. With the extension, the art school now has until Aug. 31 to vacate the building, according to a City of Penticton media release.

School District 67 gave the Okanagan School of Arts an eviction notice earlier this month after attempts to renegotiate the lease with the school board failed. The arts school faced economic turmoil as a result of COVID-19 restrictions that shut the doors of the building for several months.

"I want to thank the dozens of volunteers and community members who have contributed to the success of the OSA in the Shatford Centre,” Penticton Mayor John Vassilaki said the release. “The City is pleased to announce this partnership today so that momentum is not lost during the transition.”

Okanagan School of Arts president Keith MacIntyre said the school would have preferred to remain at Shatford Centre but the agreement allows the organization time to move to a new location and plan its future.

“Our current policy is to ensure all our community assets are carefully moved. We will then chart a new path forward with our member so that we can continue to promote creativity and connection through our courses, workshops and programs,” MacIntyre said in the release.

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