It's been a long-standing dream of James and Heather Francis to restore the historic Land Titles building in downtown Morden. That dream recently became reality when their company, Hive Development Group, won the option to purchase the building from the city.
"Well, James and I have been eyeing the Land Titles building for many years, even before it became vacant, and thinking that it was really a shame that such a beautiful building in the heart of downtown wasn't being put to full use (even) when the land Titles Office was there. They were really only occupying that first floor and the front part. So, we started talks with people even way back then about, how can we get our hands on this beautiful building? Years later, here we are," explained Heather.
Now, work begins to finalize the plans and a budget over the next year and then, hopefully, getting the green light to go ahead with the restoration. That, according to Heather, includes consulting with experts in stone building restoration.
"We really want to make sure this gets done properly and that the building will be structurally sound for many, many more years to come," she said. "It's not really something that can be rushed. We need to do it right."
That includes no intention of significantly altering the stone exterior.
"It's not a registered heritage building, but it is obviously a historically important building," added Heather, noting there is only the potential to make a small addition to the back. "But other than that, we'll keep all of those beautiful features and stonework, obviously, because that's what makes the building special and important, and as part of our expression of interest to the city, we did indicate that it was our full intent to restore those beautiful trim work pieces on the outside and keep the beautiful big windows."
It is, however, a different story for the interior which, noted Heather, requires a total gut job.
In the end, the idea is to convert the building to include commercial space on the ground floor and residential units on the second.
"It wouldn't be necessarily what will finally happen in the end because our due diligence over the next year might reveal different paths or might alter our plans a little bit," cautioned Heather.
Development is nothing new to the husband/wife duo who've left their mark all over Morden.
"Morden is our home. It's where we live and where we've chosen to put down roots," said Heather. "I've served time on Council in the past and we've built lots of buildings for families, businesses and the daycare. We just really care about the community, and we want to see it flourish and grow. Simple as that."
The full restoration plan has yet to be finalized and will need to be approved by Council before any work takes place.
With files from Robyn Wiebe
