As the demolition of the Grand River Hotel continues to make room for supportive housing, so does the work to maintain the pre-1859 Georgian limestone building within it.
Originally known as the Roos' Hotel, the building is in the midst of a renovation that will see approximately 40 affordable units erected along King Street East in Preston.
But maintaining the integrity of the original building is all part of the plan, as required by the Ontario Heritage Act.
"Heritage Planning staff required the submission of a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) to evaluate the heritage value of the underlying structure and assess the impacts of the proposal on heritage elements," Jeremy Parsons, senior planner of heritage for the City of Cambridge said.
"Despite the fact that the building has been heavily altered, the property was determined to meet several criteria to merit designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act."
Given an entire tear down of the building was not proposed, just portions without heritage value, it was exempt from the need for council review under the act but did go before the Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee this past July.
Many of the heritage-related mitigation measures in the HIA have already been resolved through work with city staff, including interior documentation prior to demolition, vibration monitoring and a commitment to designate the property post-development.
Parsons said the city is working closely with the construction crew doing the work to ensure satisfactory conditions are met.
Being able to maintain the building's heritage while also serving a need in the community is important to the development of the city, Parsons believes.
"This is an important project for Preston and offers a good example of how heritage conservation can dovetail well with our housing goals," he said.
"Heritage properties provide excellent, lasting built forms in which new housing units can be introduced. It’s not only old barns, coach houses and drivesheds that can become garden suits, it’s also large industrial properties and commercial buildings like this former hotel that can be transformed appropriately to meet our current housing needs."
Indwell, the organization responsible for bringing the roughly 40-unit apartment building, is happy with how the project is coming along.
"We've just finished maintenance of the building and soil remediation," Mark Willcock, community engagement coordinator for Indwell, said.
"We're tearing it right back to the original 1800s structure and our plan is to keep the shell. The plan is to incorporate that into a new build."
Willcock and Indwell understand what the building represents to the community and that it's important to keep it around in one form or another.
"There will be some units that will be in the original structure," Willcock said.
"There's been no concerns about keeping it on our end. As an organization, we love to repurpose buildings where we can and save heritage pieces when we can. The feedback we've received so far from people in the neighbourhood is that they're happy we're keeping it."
Willcock confirmed the project is on its original timeline with construction to begin in the fall of 2024.
Residents are scheduled to move in some time in 2025.
