Cambridge councillors voted to repeal the heritage designation on the site of the former Preston Springs hotel Tuesday, setting the stage for what the city calls "the next chapter of this prominent property in the Preston community."
That chapter will likely materialize later this year through a development application from Haastown Holdings, the owner of the property and old hotel that use to occupy 102 Fountain St. South before it was torn down by the city in Dec. 2020 due to structural and safety concerns.
The building had been vacant since 1990 with different owners and proposals for renewal which never came to fruition.
During its vacancy, the old hotel was vandalized and was a known safety risk for the city due to trespassing.
The city says keeping the building secured was an ongoing challenge. "Those issues further contributed to the condition of the property which was in an advanced state of deterioration and structural decay before finally being demolished," the city said in a press release.
Haastown was embroiled in a legal fight with the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario and the city over the demolition, effectively putting the redevelopment plans on hold until that was resolved.
In the meantime, the city waived development fees to support Haastown's plans last spring.
Although an application has yet to be made public, early drawings of Haastown's plans for the site, which were revealed during a council meeting in April, showed two towers around a central podium structure that resembles the former hotel.
Renderings of the residential development featured direct access to Fountain Street with street level commercial spaces, a point in a mid-rise tower, heritage gardens to the north with direct access to Abraham Street, podium parking and amenities.
The centrepiece of the redevelopment would be a central piazza called Preston Square.
