'It will be the Fire Hall Market': Former fire station in Port Stanley to become Artisan Market and Luxury Apartment

When the Municipality of Central Elgin built a new state-of-the-art fire station at the entrance to Port Stanley, Ont., it put its former downtown fire station on the market.

After two local couples won the bid to purchase the building, they are ready to get to work with a redevelopment.

Gerry Hensels and his wife Lorraine McElroy, as well as partners Dale and Angela Homewood just got the keys Monday night.

"We see the opportunity of turning the building into something that is going to give back to the community," says Angela Homewood, one of the co-owners of the building.

"We're calling the business 'Fire Hall Market'. It is going to have local artisan products from food to beverage to crafts and won't duplicate other businesses in town. Wehope to have a butcher, cheese vendor, and fish monger and we will open seven-days a week in the summer time."

There will be a lot of demolition work required as they plan on making the concrete building into an open concept.

“We're standing in the old bay at the back of the fire hall which had their antique Fire truck," says Hensels, as he describes the amount of construction work necessary to make their plan happen. "We're going to be removing all of these walls and opening it up so that we'll have 100-feet-long by 30 feet wide, and hopefully have 16 new vendors."

The couples love the idea of keeping the market a fire hall theme.

The murals on the exterior doors will be touched up, then kept which is "great news for the Municipality," according to Central Elgin Mayor Sally Martyn.

The timber-framed inside will have fire hydrants for tables, and using fire Extinguisher for lighting.

However, the market will only be half of the project. Upstairs they will convert the former training centre into a luxury apartment.

"It's 1,500 square feet," says Hensels, who has 35 years in the construction industry, and will be overseeing the project.

"It's going to be converted into a two-bedroom executive apartment with very high end finishes. The front wall of the building is going to be removed, and we will lower the roof on the front section with a rooftop terrace that the tenant will be able to go out and enjoy the view of the bridge and the main street."

The apartment will be up for rent as soon as it is finished and the hope is that the market will be complete by Victoria Day.

"It will probably be one of the more expensive apartments or places to live in Port Stanley, but we're at the bridge and right on the main intersection of town. Technically, you don't need a car to live here, and probably the best location in all Port Stanley," said Hensels.

The couples offer to the municipality was accepted Dec. 9, 2021.

At the same time the municipality put the lot at 218 Joseph Street up for sale, they also listed 4980 Sunset Drive, the former Green Roof Restaurant, up for sale.

The 1.85 acre lot has now been sold according to Mayor Martyn, and the municipality hopes to have the deal closed in a couple of weeks.