Former Commercial Hotel to receive $10,000 grant from Centre Wellington

ELORA – It's just a drop in the bucket, but the owners of 27-43 Mill Street West in Elora will receive a $10,000 grant Community Improvement Plan grant from the township.

Kristy Hillis and Don Kogan purchased the building in 2021 and have a plan to restore the exterior, and convert the interior, to two commercial units on the ground floor and two residential units on each of the upper two levels.

Around the back of the building is the Gorge Cinema, which was restored before reopening on July 21.

The building is a Level 2 building – one identified by the township as being a brownfield site, vacant, or under-utilized that would benefit the local economy by being restored.

The township offers $10,000 grants and $10,000 loans to qualifying proposals.

Manager of economic development George Borovilos said the owners are not asking for the loan; they have just applied for the grant.

“Level 2 Incentives are only available to properties that have been identified as priority sites by council,” states Borovilos’s report, adding the subject property was added to the list of priority sites in Jan. 2017.

“The application meets the program criteria, having frontage on West Mill Street at a prominent location in Elora and restoring the heritage features of the building.”

“This is what council is looking for as we move forward,” said councillor Barb Lustgarten-Evoy.

“I thank the owners for the hard work they are doing.”

“I love the look of the building,” councillor Lisa MacDonald agreed.

“It will tie in with the work on East Mill. It will all blend.”

Council voted in favour of providing the grant.

“It’s nice to see that building coming back to life again,” said Mayor Shawn Watters.