City poised to assume ownership of Kin Canada building in Preston

After opening their national headquarters in Cambridge 45 years ago, Kinsmen of Canada has called Riverside Park home ever since. 

But after nearly five decades as the main tenants of the building, Kin Canada has reached an agreement with the City of Cambridge to hand over control of the approximately 15,000 square-foot building at 1920 Rogers Dr., pending council approval.

In late 2021, Kin Canada reached out to the city to see if there was any interest in taking over the building and ending their land lease agreement that was signed when they constructed the headquarters back in 1978.

Negotiations began in 2022 and saw the city and the Kin vote in favour of terminating the agreement and surrender control of the entire building back to the city.

"The City taking ownership of the building and resetting the lease arrangement with Kin Canada, not only assists Kin Canada in developing a new business model that will enable it to support its clubs across Canada but will also create new opportunities for the City to deliver new services, programs, and infrastructure at Riverside Park," said the city in a report headed to city council next week.

The non-profit is planning on staying at the Riverside Park building, but in a smaller capacity. They will keep their signage on the building and occupy office space on the upper floor.

If approved, the Kin will pay base rent of $2,083 per month plus an additional $7,500 per year for its share of operating and maintenance costs of the building.

The future for the rest of the building is still up in the air with no solid plans.

It's hoped the newly acquired space will create an additional revenue stream for the city as they plan to lease out the remaining space.

"Up to 10,000 sq ft of space will be available for city purposes once the agreements are in effect," said the city.  

They will take on all other costs associated with the building, including some needed renovations. The report details that they could run a deficit with this project, depending on how they lease out the other units. 

According to the report, renovations over the next five years will run the city an approximately $509,000. 

"The City, as the new owner of the building, will be responsible for the operations, maintenance, and capital repairs of the building," read the report. "Kin Canada will contribute $100,000 towards capital works."

The bottom floor is currently occupied by late Cambridge artist Dave Sopha's Portraits of Honour.

Last year, Dave's daughter Terri Sopha was in talks with the city about securing a place for the nationally recognized piece of art and her extensive military memorabilia collection. Talks between Sopha and the city are underway to determine her space requirements. 

The report states that only the middle two floors are being rented out, so it seems for the time-being that Sopha won't have to put the veterans in boxes for a second time. 

Council is set to consider the new agreement March 14.