Our Canoe FM Journalist - Elizabeth Oakley reports:

The Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre, located in Algonquin Highlands on the shores of
Lake St. Nora has been sold for $3M dollars.
Canoe FM spoke to a real estate agent who’s assisting in the sale earlier today. Jonathan
Weizel, of Royal LePage Terre Equity Realty, said the new owner plans to operate a substance
abuse and mental health rehab facility there. Weizel said the sale was complicated and took
more than two years to finalize because of Heritage restrictions.
Since 1944, the University of Toronto Faculty of Forestry ran the center to educate government
personnel and university students. The site was known as the Ranger School and later, the
Ontario Forest Technical Training School.
In 1974, Ontario Premier Bill Davis announced the Frost Centre would become the first outdoor
education center in Ontario. It was dedicated to environmental and resource management
education.
The Ministry of Natural Resources later ran the center for both youth and adults, and provided
specialized training for MNR staff, the Ontario Public Service, the Ontario Provincial Police and
the Ministry of the Environment. On site, there was accommodation for up to 200 people. The
center has sat idle since its closure in 2004.
A massive public outcry fought the center’s closure, but the province chose to lease the facility
for outdoor education activities. The Frost Centre Institute, led by Boshkung cottager and
former IBM executive, Al Aubry, offered a summer camps, a conference center and a space for
environmental science seminars. After operating on a deficit and not paying rent for more than
three years, the center was closed in 2010. Since then, the buildings have sat dormant.
Algonquin Highlands Mayor Liz Danielson told Canoe FM there’s much excitement surrounding
the sale, since the building has sat ‘unloved’ for many years. She said she’s thrilled to see the
buildings being put to use to help those struggling with mental health and substance abuse
issues. Rezoning will be the next step and Danielson believes the work can be done in time for
the close of the sale, which takes place June first.