Look what they’ve done to the old Sault Ste. Marie Jail (7 photos)

Jason Naccarato, Northern Advancement Capital (NAC) Inc. president, has poured his entrepreneurial energy into repurposing and renovating the old Sault Ste. Marie Jail building. 

The historic structure, located at 145 McNabb St., was built in 1915, with additions made in 1951 and 1985.

The old jail closed in 2003, Northern Advancement Capital purchasing the building in the fall of 2019. 

“It was the idea of my cousin (Frank Naccarato) to buy the space and use it as a commercial space. The province had it listed for sale for an extended period,” Jason Naccarato said, speaking to SooToday.

“Given its history as a jail, a lot of other folks would’ve just shied away but my cousin Frank has the ability to look at things and see the potential in a building. That I have to give him credit for.”

“Once he sold me on the idea I went to work and started to look at repurposing the space. We just brainstormed with a blank canvas, how we could position different parts of the building, who would be prospective tenants. The first tenant was Superior EMS. They really believed in the vision,” Naccarato said.

Superior EMS has a large training classroom in the building, with a garage specially set aside for an ambulance at the structure’s west side.

“CEFA, a French-language school (specifically, a non-profit organization that offers French language training to Sault Ste. Marie and the surrounding area), was another one of the first companies who really believed in the vision, and when you see their space you wouldn’t be able to tell what the prior use of the building was. It’s really nice. It’s really innovative (how they have renovated).”     

“After Superior EMS, we started to slowly chip away at other businesses, like people in health care, we got a salon to come in, an art studio and my own business (Northstar Consulting). It’s really a credit to the tenants and their belief in us and our team, to put it together and really transform the space into something new that meets their needs. I think a lot of these new-age businesses are really looking for something with a bit more character than traditional grey tiles, grey carpets and white ceilings. They’re looking for something with more character which tells a bit of a story,” Naccarato said.

Tenants include Superior EMS, Utopia Spa, CEFA, Northstar Consulting, Body Vive Integrative Therapies and others, with room for more.  

“We’re working on a few more tenants in the healthcare space, we’ve got some supplementary health care practitioners coming in there now,” Naccarato said.

“It’s so much better to reuse some of these old assets we have than to always try and build new.”

It has been stated by many architects and developers that older buildings are as solid as can be, truly built to last.

“Generally speaking that’s my assessment and this particular building, even more so, just because of its prior use. The building is just like a bunker. Its walls are all super thick, everything’s reinforced concrete. Any time we do have to make modifications to it, we’re very cognizant of how much work it is because it’s so hard to take any of these walls down or put openings in the walls, but yeah, that building’s definitely not going anywhere. It’s really, really solid and they didn’t spare any expense when they were constructing it as far as the robustness of the design is concerned,” Naccarato said.

As with any project, there are challenges.

Apart from the labour put into renovating the building, Naccarato said “when you explain the space to people, right away some people aren’t as open to considering it, so you have a bit of an uphill battle to convince them ‘hey, this could be a great place for you to operate your business,’ because some folks have a hard time getting past ‘it was a jail before.’”

“So, you have to really look at how you’re going to brand the building, brand the space and you have to find the right people. I was blessed in this journey to find tenants who believed in me, the building and our team. We were fortunate. The tenants that are there are all very happy,” Naccarato said.

Were there any unforeseen structural challenges as Naccarato’s team began their renovation work?

“Windows,” Naccarato chuckled.

“There weren’t enough of them, so in one of our projects we had to put in new windows, and it was challenging because those walls are very difficult to work with. We hope to eventually add more windows. It’s something we’ll work towards.”

The building is still a work in progress, Naccarato said.              

Those have been the challenges.

What about the rewards?

“I love it. I love being very creative and looking at new ways to use something that was previously unused (for several years), getting creative with who could possibly come in here and try to look at the space and reconfigure it to fit their needs. When you look at some of the people who came in, we were able to make very, very minor modifications and find a way to make the space work absolutely perfectly for them. The salon, their renovations were minor. The creative side of the work is what really energizes me and gets me excited,” Naccarato said.

“We really want to focus on the second and third floors in the old section. That’ll be a big undertaking. That’s where our energy will be focused next.”

Naccarato and Northern Advancement Capital were recently honoured by BUILD magazine, a quarterly digital publication concerning the construction and property markets, in its 2020 Real Estate & Property Awards for being a leading expert in Canadian brownfield real estate redevelopment. 

“We’re thrilled to be recognized,” Naccarato said.

“We’ve got a great staff working for us, great tradespeople and great people in the office. It comes down to the tenants believing in us, believing in the building and the support of my family as well. There were a lot of late nights, us working there trying to get it done.”