The former Verdi Hall, which held countless community and social events over the years, is currently for sale after most recently being used as an emergency men's shelter.
Located directly across from the border plaza and, in recent years, renamed the Bridge View Banquet Hall, the 6,000-plus square foot building has a listing price of $599,000. The listing for the property notes the main floor has been freshly painted and new flooring was installed in 2023.
The hall been used for weddings, celebrations and other social events, and for years acted as an occasional clinic for Canadian Blood Services. Canadian Blood Services ended its mobile clinics in Sault Ste. Marie in 2019, choosing to instead focus of collecting blood products in more populated areas.
The building at 453 Queen St. W. last changed hands in 2017 when it was purchased by Kenneth and Lionel Goodship for $585,000, according to publicly available land registry documents retrieved by SooToday.
In 2021, the building was put into use as a temporary 'low-barrier' shelter meant for men who, for one reason or another, are banned from other shelter facilities.
The building was decommissioned as a shelter earlier this year, when a new 44-bed facility and Community Resource Centre opened in the former Sacred Heart School at Wellington and East streets, on the opposite end of Sault Ste. Marie's downtown.