Elora’s historic Dalby building has once again changed hands, and plans are in the works to give it new life by taking it back to its roots as a hotel.
“We’re so excited. Oh my word,” said Teal Parkinson, describing the project as a dream.
She and her husband Eric Parkinson own the Ayrshire House, an inn in a historic 19th-century red-brick house, located on Geddes Street, just up the road from the Dalby building.
They are now also the owners of the Dalby building, too, after having recently purchased it from Kat Florence.
Don Kogen and Kristy Hillis, the couple behind Kat Florence, are neighbours, Teal said. The two couples got to talking about the Dalby one day, and the conversation evolved into a business plan.
“It was just kind of a conversation that turned into an amazing opportunity,” Teal said.
Teal, a former professor of historical archeology, and her husband, a fire captain in Kitchener, had originally envisioned running an inn as a retirement gig, but got the opportunity sooner than expected with the Ayrshire property, which belonged to Eric’s parents.
But if asked if there was any property in Elora she could have, the Dalby would be it, Teal said.
“It’s this amazing, iconic, unique piece in Elora,” she said of the building.
The flat iron building dates back to 1865, and is listed among the township’s heritage-designated properties.
It was commissioned for businessman Robert Dalby, who partnered with local harness maker Andrew Gordon on the project, according to the information on the township’s heritage register.
The building is often referred to as the Dalby House or the Gordon Block, for the name stamped into the pointed facade. Some also know it as the Iroquois Hotel, a name it bore in more recent history.
It will soon be called the Ayrshire Hotel.
Kat Florence, which has undertaken other historic restoration projects in downtown Elora, acquired the former home of the Dalby House a couple of years ago, sharing plans to renovate its upper floors to convert it into a boutique hotel.
But Kogen said he and Hillis were supportive of the Parkinsons’ vision for the property.
“Recognizing Elora needed more affordable hotel rooms, we agreed that Kat Florence would support the cause, so we sold them the Dalby building,” Kogen told EloraFergusToday in an email.
Previous owners had seen the need for rental housing in the village, and had turned the second and third floors into apartments.
But by the time the Parkinsons bought the property, those apartments were vacant, said Teal.
They are currently undergoing renovations, with the couple hoping to be open in time for the May long weekend.
“It’s exciting to be bringing it back to what it once was,” Teal said, noting she shares Hillis’s “passion that she’s got for restoring old buildings.”
The plan is to make use of the eight apartments, but repurpose them into hotel rooms with a similar vintage-modern vibe to the Ayrshire House. There will also be two additional rooms on the ground floor.
The Lobby Bar and the Terre Bleu shop will also stay, and there are partnerships in the works to use the Terre Bleu products in the hotel rooms and possibly offer room service from the Lobby Bar, said Teal.
“It’s such a good fit,” she said. “For a guest experience, it’s all going to feel very cohesive.”
She believes there is a need for a hotel like this in the community, noting the Ayrshire’s summer occupancy is around 80 per cent, and even the off-season was busy this year.
“The more we can encourage overnight stays, that’s when the town starts making money,” Teal said, noting she does her best to push people out into the community to check out the local restaurants and shops.
She has no plans to return to teaching, having embraced what she called a “life-long dream” in the hospitality sector.