City of Cambridge worried about structural integrity of Preston Springs Hotel
The City of Cambridge issued a property standard order to developer Haastown Holdings earlier this month
The developer of the Preston Springs Hotel in Cambridge is following the city's order to assess the structural soundness of the heritage building, according to the deputy city manager.
On Nov. 6, the City of Cambridge issued a property standard order to developer Haastown Holdings. It requires the company to hire an engineer to determine if there are any structural deficiencies in the building and the two neighbouring houses on Fountain Street, which the developer also owns.
The building has stood at the corner of King Street W. and Fountain Street N. since the 1890s. It was purchased by Haastown Holdings owner Paul de Haas in 2012. The company considered developing the site into a boutique hotel, seniors' apartments or condo units, but so far the building remains largely unchanged.
The deadline for the company to make an appeal to the property standards committee was Tuesday.
"[The developer] is in contact with the officer that issued the minimum standards order, so they'll make some arrangements and continue to work with both parities to make sure we as a city to get what we need to make sure the public is safe in and around those buildings," said Hardy Bromberg, deputy city manager of Cambridge.
Complaints led to city order
The Preston Springs Hotel has been vacant since 1990, and in 1992, was determined to be of architectural and historical value under the Ontario Heritage Act. In 2018, Haastown Holdings was ordered to temporarily fence off the hotel and council was told de Haas had closed up pits and holes on the ground floor and secured the front entrance.
Even so, the city has continued to hear complaints from neighbouring property owners, which led to the city's property standard order, according to Bromberg.
"We've been dealing with concerns around the building not being secured. And so that would have led to the city officers attending the site," said Bromberg.
Once they were there, they had their own concerns about the building's structure and wrote up the order, said Bromberg.
CBC News has contacted Haastown Holdings owner Paul de Haas, but he has not responded.
There isn't a timeline for when the engineering report needs to be submitted to the city, but Bromberg thinks "it will take a little bit of time based on doing a relatively extensive review."
The City of Cambridge has been involved in the building's development for years, waiving building charges, permit fees and planning fees, according to Bromberg.