Holding out hope for the Genosha

The Genosha Hotel has sat calm and quiet for months, the crumbling brick and half-finished renovations nothing more than a symbol of the most recent failed attempt to rejuvenate the aging historic structure.

However, while the building has stood silent, the voices of the Oshawa community have been ringing out with questions as to what the eventual fate of the building will be.

Now, it seems they may finally have an answer.

A familiar face in Richard Summers along with a new partner and investor have purchased the property and are looking to once again restore the yellow-brick hotel to her former grandeur.

And while this latest news may be a cause for celebration to some, there are certainly others who may not be allowing their hopes to get much higher than the six-storey building because quite frankly, we’ve been here before.

In 2015, all was bright for the building’s future as council approved a hefty incentive package for a developer that looked, and talked, like he was up to the task.

As we all know, that project went belly-up and it wasn’t the first either.

The new owners would be smart to learn from the previous attempts at restoring this building, which is going to take a lot of skill, planning and some deep pockets to see it through until the end.

Summers has been here before, which could be promising for the project as he should have enough knowledge and experience to know what he’s getting himself in to, and with the area surrounding the hotel seeing a brief resurgence, he is right in stating the time has never been better to see this struggling renovation through until the very end.

The importance of this project has been reiterated countless times by council and by those wielding the hammers, and while the repeated mantras have stayed the same, it doesn’t make them any less true.

The central location of this historic building in the city’s downtown makes it a perfect place to fill with people, and people is exactly what the downtown needs.

Events, restaurants, theatre productions, concerts, all of these things only thrive when there’s a dedicated customer base.

Let’s hope the latest attempt to restore the Genosha into 102 luxury apartments is more than just talk and upon completion, brings a large influx of people into our downtown.