ELORA – Something new is coming to an iconic and historic Downtown Elora building.
The upper two floors of the Dalby House, a 156 year-old flat iron building where Geddes and Metcalfe streets meet, are being converted into apartments while the ground floor will offer retail space.
The Dalby House was historically a hotel but most recently hosted the Upper Grand Family Health Team who have since moved to the Trailside Medical building near Groves Hospital.
The building was purchased by a new owner in August 2019 and is being managed by Barrie-based Maven Commercial Real Estate.
Stephanie Maye, co-owner and broker of record with Maven, said in an interview this is a property she’s had her eye on for some time.
Maye used to live in Centre Wellington and worked there as a real estate agent prior to moving to Barrie.
“When I got wind of this property coming on the market, I was super excited about it because it’s such a beautiful, iconic building,” Maye said, adding current owner Sam Bhanji agreed this was a rare opportunity.
Maye explained the original intention was to leave it as office space but it became increasingly clear this was not what this part of town needed.
“We noticed how many phone calls we were getting from retailers who wanted to rip out all the walls and set-up their beautiful stores,” Maye said.
“We just realized there are so many people who want to move to this area, but there’s not enough rental stock.”
To accommodate this, the upper two floors have been converted into apartments with two two-bedrooms, one single-bedroom and a studio on each floor.
The ground floor has been converted into retail space. Maye said there could be up to three but there’s also space for pop-up in the basement which is accessible from both Geddes and Metcalfe streets.
The interior of the building is being fully renovated but the outside is keeping its original look for more authenticity with the area.
“We’re just so excited about the prospects of allowing these entrepreneurs to be able to take hold of good quality, up-to-date and yet historically-authentic space so they can put their ideas into it,” Maye said.
The apartments are expected to be finished in December and retailers are coming at a to be determined time.
