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Quote:General contractor Nith Valley Construction and masonry subcontractor Empire Restoration are restoring and transforming the landmark Imperial Hotel. Nith has been on-site since the spring.
The project, which includes the construction of an addition at the rear, will repurpose the three-storey building into a mixed commercial/residential facility. A restaurant and micro-brewery will be located on the first floor, with senior rental units on the second and third stories of both the original building, as well as the addition. It will also have first floor commercial space.
The driving force behind the complicated and expensive restoration is resident Marie Voisin, a writer and historian who also collaborates with her husband on house restorations.
Other project partners include Robertson Simmons Architects Inc. and structural consultant Witzel Dyce Engineering Inc., both of Kitchener, Ont.
"It's very rare we actually have a project in New Hamburg," says Empire Restoration president Philip Hoad.
In early September his company completed the meticulous and laborious task of removing the layers of paint which had covered the yellow brick building for more than 100 years.
Conducted over a three-week period by a three-man crew, the paint removal consisted of applying peel away pressure strips — which the paint adheres to — then removing the strips, washing and cleaning the bricks, and, where necessary, cleaning them with a low-pressure micro-abrasive wash consisting of crushed glass beads and water using a Rotec vortex cleaning system.
"We're hoping for a warm autumn," says Hoad, pointing out that his company has an extensive amount of restoration work to complete before cold weather sets in.
There is approximately 557 square metres (6,000 square feet) of brick on two exterior walls and a parapet which required a considerable amount of amount of crack stitching and repointing on those two walls and the parapet above will be required, he says.
And based on site inspections, an estimated 1,000 bricks aren't salvageable and will have to be replaced with new or reclaimed ones obtained from a number of suppliers.
"We won't know the full extent (of the replacement) until work proceeds."
As part of the restoration, new heritage-style windows with precast concrete window sills will also be installed. It hasn't been determined if his firm or the general contractor will be responsible for that work, says Hoad.
Located at the intersection of Huron and Mills streets in the heart of New Hamburg, the Imperial Hotel was built in 1872, with a third storey added in 1902. At some point the yellow brick was stained red and then later a "creamy" paint was applied, says Voisin.
"Yellow brick is quite common in the New Hamburg area, so probably that (the staining) was done to make it look different."
Voisin purchased the building— earlier this year because she was concerned it would eventually be demolished.
Like a lot of "grand old hotels in rural Ontario," the Imperial — more recently known as Eddly's — has seen better days. A number of factors over the decades have contributed to its steady decline including the introduction of Prohibition after the First World War and changing hospitality trends after the Second World War.
"People stopped staying in hotels and went to the motels."
For the past 30 years or so, the ground floor had been used as a bar and the top floors used as storage. The windows had been boarded up, the wallpaper had peeled off the walls and ceilings, and there was some water damage on the ceilings and walls on the third floor, she says.
Despite the damage and an extensive gutting of the interior — necessary for the new fit out —many of the hotel's historic elements are in good shape and will be reincorporated. Besides rebuilding the parapet, and restoring huge pine planks on the third floor corridor walls, an original tin ceiling will be re-erected on the ground floor, says Voisin.
"This project has become important to New Hamburg. People stop me on the street and tell me that it is making the town look so much better. They hope it will encourage people to visit historic downtown New Hamburg."
Although moving the project from concept to completion won't be easy and it will be sometime before she recoups her investment, Voisin expects the project to be completed by December 2015.