Former Brookside Youth Detention Centre Site

Background
In August of 2020 Town Council passed a Notice of Motion to the Government of Ontario to consider alternate uses for the Brookside Youth Detention Centre site, located at 390 King Street East in Cobourg. The centre had been operating at a reduced occupancy rate for several years.

In February 2021 the province of Ontario closed the Brookside Youth Centre. The current site consists of 14 buildings and the footprint of the site is approximately 30 acres of land. The young people living there were transferred to other facilities.

During the January 31, 2022, Regular Council Meeting the Honourable David Piccini, Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks and MPP for Northumberland-Peterborough South, spoke to the potential next steps for the former Brookside Youth Detention Centre site. To view his presentation, visit this link and start watching at timestamp 1:27:35.

De-Commissioning Process

• Step 1: Ontario Government can express interest in the property
• Step 2: Federal and broader public sector can express interest in the property
• Step 3: Municipality and Not-for-profit organizations can express interest in the property
• Step 4: Private sector organizations can express interest in the property

Next steps for the former Brookside Youth Detention Centre Site
As a preliminary step, Town Council and Staff are exercising due diligence to evaluate the former Brookside site’s potential through a comprehensive assessment of the land and buildings in order to establish its assets and liabilities.

To assist in the assessment of the site’s future potential, the public is invited to share their thoughts by submitting to the Forum below.

Note: At the end of the de-commissioning period, the Town of Cobourg will share this Public Engagement Report with the Province so community insight and recommendations can be passed along to the successful buyer.

The public engagement objective is to:

• Gather feedback from residents (there is currently no deadline for comments)
• Provide updates to the community throughout this long-term process

Project Updates:
The de-commissioning of a public building can be a lengthy process. As part of the Town of Cobourg’s commitment to Community Engagement, we will continue to provide updates to members of the public using this site.

• August 3, 2022, update from Infrastructure Ontario: The Government of Ontario is continuing its due diligence on the property, including if it is surplus to government needs. The Town of Cobourg is awaiting further notification.

This is a public engagement page and is not intended to accept business proposals for the former Brookside Youth Detention Centre site.

If you require any of the information in an accessible format, please contact the Communications Department at communications@cobourg.ca.