Pre-Confederation jail up for sale in Perth, Ont.Real estate agent Ian Shackell says the person who buys the Perth Gaol, built in 1862, will need deep pockets and the will to renovate a heritage property, complete with 18 cells, gallows and a fortified courtyard.
Now the 18 cells, gallows, fortified courtyard and more than a century and half of ghoulish history can beDerelict for years, with water pouring through a damaged roof and next to no air circulation, the passage of time has been its own punishment on the jail. "As you can well imagine, a jail doesn't have opening windows," said the real estate agent sentenced to find a buyer.
Shackell said tire-kickers have mused about a boutique hotel, a residence for students of Algonquin College's Perth campus, just 300 metres away, an escape room or a multi-residential unit.With the structure zoned for institutional use and protected by the town's heritage rules, locking down a deal on the jail has been difficult, said Shackell, though he said he has been assured Perth wants to "keep an open mind.
"Would you want to live there?" asked one neighbour, passing by the property with her leashed dog last week.