The Town of Kingsville is moving forward with the redevelopment of a former restaurant site.
Town council voted this week to award a $64,000 contract to a demolition company to tear down and cleanup the site of the Kings Landing Restaurant, which served its last meal a year and a half ago.
Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos says the building is in poor shape and demolition is the best option.
"The 1887-circa building is in a poor state of condition of failing foundations," says Santos.
Following input from the town's department of municipal facilities and property, council members also voted to proceed with finalizing a design for a new community and arts centre that will be built on the site. Three preliminary designs were presented at a public meeting this summer and Santos says feedback showed a clear winner.
"A two-to-one response from the public has been to basically try to restore to the best reflection of what was standing there," says Santos. "So, the Grovedale option with the two stories and the porches."
The design will be based on the former Grovedale Manor Hotel. This would recreate the two-story façade of the original building and the main hall space would be in the rear. The square footage of the building will be a little over 6,000 sq ft.
This project is being funded by a Canada 150 grant in an effort to pay homage to the historical structure.
Hazardous material removal from the former restaurant is expected to begin next week, but the demolition is expected to be finished within three weeks. Santos says the town will use that time to tweak a final footprint for the site based on the old Grovedale Manor.
The mayor previously told BlackburnNews.com that he'd like to see construction start before winter weather hits. Santos says he hopes the foundation for the new arts centre will be completed by spring with the finished product ready for use by the summer tourist season of 2018.