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David Brown's vision of Ripley is to turn it into a culinary tourist
destination, with great food, great restaurants, great hospitality and
great shops.
Last night (Dec. 1) at the Huron-Kinloss general committee meeting, he
unveiled his $10-million plan to create Ripley Square, beginning with
the block along Queen Street, where Dalton Pottery is located, which
includes the old hotel and the Courtney building.
"I own a lot of buildings in downtown Ripley," Brown told council. "It
started five years ago when I purchased the old hotel on Queen Street
and the corner building at Queen and Huron. I wasn't sure what I was
going to do with them. I never expected the proposal which I'm showing
you tonight."
""The impetus for pulling this project together now was the 'for sale'
signs on Thompson's Feed Mill and the building that houses The Glass
Hummingbird on Huron Street," said Brown. He purchased the feed mill,
with the deal closing Monday and bought the downtown building with the
deal closing December 18th.
"The feed mill business has been sold to Hensall," said Brown, "and it
has a deal to use it for at least two years. If my downtown project is
successful, I'm going to need parking and the Thompson property is
three-and-a-half acres which would be ideal for parking."
As for 'Ripley Square,' he proposes restoring the buildings on Queen,
Huron, and Melville Streets, and constructing a third row of buildings
along the south end, encasing a courtyard which could be used for a
farmers' market, outdoor concerts, and an outdoor cafe. The buildings
would be three stores high and the courtyard would be dug down with
entrances to the basements.
The proposal also includes 159 apartments, with 56,000 square feet of
residential space, as well as 36,000 square feet of commercial space.
Brown estimates the cost of the development at $10 million.
"The old hotel will be the catalyst of this development," he said. "I'm
a butcher by trade and I have an extensive background in the hospitality
industry. I'd like to see restaurants here done up in an 1870s-1880s
theme. I want to attract people to Ripley, to work and dine here. I want
to make Ripley a culinary destination in its own right."
He said the sky's the limit when it comes to possibilities for the
Ripley area, including such things as a cooking school in the old hotel,
golf course packages, and farm vacations. "There are people here who
have hobbies that could be turned into a business - two or three of them
in a building would cut down on the costs," he said. "I'd like to see an
old-fashioned ice cream shop or a soda shop."
Brown added that affordable housing is key to the whole project. "The
problem for Kincardine right now is there's not enough affordable
accommodation for the people. If we put all these shops in downtown
Ripley, we need affordable accommodation." (next column)
13/01/2009 04:20 PM |
(continued)
David Brown's drawings show a courtyard and
three-storey buildings in downtown Ripley
He is holding an open house December 11 in the Huron-Kinloss
municipal office, with a formal presentation at 7:30 p.m., to get the
public's opinion on this proposal.
"I'm in a unique position," he said. "I have acquired all these
buildings, almost by accident. I want to do something here that the
people of Ripley are in favour of."
"It's wonderful that people like you are thinking outside the box," said
councillor Jim Hanna. "There are a number of planning issues that will
have to be dealt with, but it's remarkable what you've put together."
Brown said he expects it will take three to five years before a shovel
will be in the ground. "Depending on the financial situation and the
economy, it could be longer," he said.
"It would be good to get a project like this going in Ripley," said
Mayor Mitch Twolan. "You'll get lots of ideas on December 11th. We wish
you the best of luck."
Brown lives in Toronto but has a cottage on Goderich Street at the south
end of Kincardine. His grandparents lived in Ripley and his father was
born in Kincardine in 1921. "I have a lot of connections with this area
which I have maintained," he said.
He explained that, in 2003, he was driving through Ripley and noticed
the buildings had deteriorated. "I remember when I was a kid, Ripley was
a thriving hot spot," he said. "I saw a 'for sale' sign on the corner
building where Dalton Pottery is now, and a 'for sale' sign on the old
hotel, so I bought the two of them. Then the Courtney building was for
sale and I wound up owning the entire block."
He said there was talk of tearing down the structures.
"I couldn't let that happen so I began restoring these gorgeous old
buildings," he said.
Brown has experience restoring buildings in Toronto so he has combined
his love of that and his love for hospitality with the creation of this
project to transform downtown Ripley. "There have been similar projects
done in Prince Edward County and the Niagara Peninsula with wineries,"
said Brown. "We have wonderful things here with agriculture and the lake
but we're not taking full advantage of them."
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