The Downtown Mission is excited for the future.
As heard on AM800 News on Friday, the mission is buying the Central Library branch on Ouellette Ave from the City of Windsor.
Executive Director Ron Dunn says the $3.6-million deal officially closes at the end of June 2019.
Dunn says the mission plans to put its Victoria Street building up for sale.
"We will be selling our Victoria Street location," says Dunn. "We had a 10 year plan there and that was almost 20 years ago so it's certainly we've out lived in terms of space. "We built that to serve 100 people, a meal once a day. We're now serving 700 meals a day, three meals."
He says the main branch is in spectacular shape and the city maintained it well.
"It's really a blank canvas for us and so our goal is to build affordable housing at least on the second floor," says Dunn. "It's so large that we'll be able to do many units, transitionally and one bed permanents."
Dunn says the mission approached the city about two months ago about the central branch.
"We needed something in the downtown core," says Dunn. "We looked at multiple other buildings. We looked at building something from scratch. This building was the best value for the money so we're really eager and excited to take possession in 2019 and go from there."
Dunn says the plan is to transform the second floor of the building into affordable housing.
The mission, along with the city, announced the sale during a joint news conference on Friday.
The deal includes the building on Ouellette Ave and the parking lot behind the main branch.
The city has yet to announce where the new library will be, but Mayor Drew Dilkens says it will be in the downtown core.