New event space aspires to be a crown jewel in Owen Sound’s growth strategy If nothing else, Nick Ainis — builder, entrepreneur, author — not afraid of a challenge. As principal of Fusioncorp, he already has several building conversion and expansion projects to his credit. Notable projects he has worked on include the 12-storey Carmelina Condos; The Ed Mirvish Theatre, a 45-storey luxury hotel condo complex; and more recently, a condo/hotel expansion project at the Hotel Beebop at 45 Mutual Rd in Toronto.
He’s co-authored a book called Building Toronto’s Skyline, which traces the city’s humble beginnings to the modern metropolis it is today. But it’s his latest venture that may get the most attention yet, if not for the scale of the restoration effort needed, just the sheer audacity of undertaking such a complicated project. The Royal Rose, as it will be named, will rise out of the former Owen Sound Courthouse and Prison which has sat empty since December 2011.
Two main purposes are planned for the facility. The renovated courthouse will serve as an entertainment and event venue, and will host weddings, concerts, performances, conferences and other community gatherings; and a business incubator to be set up at the site will support startups and entrepreneurs by providing resources, mentorship and collaborative workspaces. According to Ainis, everything will be “five-star,” from valet services, to fine dining, to speakeasy lounges and other luxury features and finishes planned for the facility.
As for the present state of the building, well that’s another story. It’s dirty, it’s mouldy, it’s dingy, “but that’s what you get with older buildings, it smells like an old basement,” he says rather matter-of-factly as he prepares to take me on a tour of the facility. To say the place is in a bad state of disrepair is an understatement, almost everywhere you look, things need fixing — staircases, hallways, office spaces and lounges.
To top it off, there’s the birds nesting in the roof and that dare fly out at you as you enter what will be the main theatre and event space area. Our tour continues, up and down stairs, throughout the building, into what was once the jail cell area and onto balconies, where the courtyards below are badly overgrown with wild grass and weeds. Yet somehow, if you can see past all this, the building does appear to have a lot of potential, not just based on its historical appeal, but its structure including all the stonework and the woodwork.
If Ainis can pull this off, it will be amazing. I then ask Ainis whatever brought him to Owen Sound in the first place as all his other projects are based in the GTA. He says he read about the abandoned courthouse in a newspaper article, became fascinated, and tried to develop it years ago for the purposes of turning into a condo.
At the time, however, the City of Owen Sound did not believe in the viability of the project, “and so I passed on it for a while,” he says. Since then and in the meantime, he got married, and in the course of planning his own wedding, he and his wife Jenny became fascinated with the idea of creating a “venue,” convinced that people were hungry for event experiences. On his next visit to the City, he presented the idea of a special event space and “this time they loved it,” he says.
Soon after, the name ‘Royal Rose’ was selected as a tribute to Nick’s late mother, and now the only remaining detail is final sign-off of the building’s detailed site plan. Restoration work will begin later this year with a projected completion date of 2027. With approvals and plans in place, Ainis is confident the project will move ahead.
It helps too that this project is being so warmly embraced by Owen Sound mayor and its City Council, it fits the burgeoning community’s growth strategy to become a tourist destination. “We’ve never encountered a city so hospitable and welcoming,” he says. Also on our agenda was a visit to Owen Sound City Hall, and every indication is that this is a city open for business.
“We are pro-business, pro-tourism and pro-events,” says Tim Simmonds, City Manager for Owen Sound. Simmonds says Owen Sound’s location on Georgian Bay works in its favour — Tobermory, Blue Mountain, Collingwood and Southampton are all near by — but also the city has a good reputation as a nice place to visit for its natural parkland and waterfront areas. There’s are also the town’s own growth projections to consider, it expects thousands of new residents to move into the area, and a number of new home and condo developments are on the horizon.
Safe to say, if Ainis can make the dream work, the Royal Rose will be a nice fit for the area..
