In the fall of 2009 Hillcrest closed and the student body was relocated to the new Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute.

Following its 2009 closure, Hillcrest High School was purchased by a private developer, Robert Zanette.

In 2011, it was transformed into a collaborative environment of non-profit and for profit businesses, as the Thunder Bay Centre of Change.

[2] As of 2014, with less than half of the space rented and a new co-owner, it was announced that the building would be converted to housing, though it was uncertain at that time whether the conversion would be to rental apartments or condominiums.

[3] In 2015, Thunder Bay city council approved Robert Zanette's application to convert of the building to condominiums.