Historic Creemore building goes up for sale ‘as is’

Austin Boake of Re/Max Creemore Hills Realty Ltd. says there is a lot of interest in the old Sovereign building, which has been put up for sale, including some from investors who would like to see a hotel operating at the site once again.

The building at the corner of Mill and Caroline streets was established as a hotel in the 1860s and offered overnight accommodation for travellers until the 1940s. More recently, it housed six apartments and La Cucina restaurant. It has stood vacant since being damaged by a fire in December 2022.

Cyndie Gordon and her brother, principals of the numbered company that owns the building, have been working on plans to restore the building and expand the number of apartments to as many as 10 but she says that after working on necessary approvals for more than a year, they are worn down by the process.

“This is not how I want to spend the next two years of my life,” said Gordon.

Boake says there have been a number of inquiries.

“We just put in on MLS a few days ago and we’re getting lots of calls,” he said.

Boake expects that there is a good chance a new owner will choose to preserve the front part of the building, and potentially expand the rear addition.

“Whether it’s an inn or apartments, you’ve got to crunch the numbers and figure out what is it going to cost to renovate versus the potential return,” said Boake.

He says the project may be attractive to a builder who can do the required work without mark-up.

The building is being sold as is and is listed for $895,000.