A Ramara Township building with a storied and infamous past will soon be demolished.
The Township of Ramara recently issued a demolition permit approving the teardown of Atherley Arms Hotel, or The First Hotel, which has fallen into disrepair and become “an embarrassment to the township,” as Mayor Basil Clarke says.
The former strip club was permanently shuttered over a decade ago after dentist David Dumencu was murdered in the parking lot.
“Ever since then, there's been a really strong push from the citizens and council to get rid of that building,” Clarke told OrilliaMatters. “It's been closed, it's been abandoned, and it's just been infested. It's become a dumping ground we’ve wanted down since then.
“You've got this crumbling building that, quite frankly, is a hazard to any kids, or anybody in the neighbourhood, and was home to a lot of rats.”
Clarke said extermination work has been carried out to rid the building of rats, and the owners – who Clarke said he could not name – are working with an engineer to carry out the demolition.
The owners explored the possibility of rebuilding on the foundation, Clarke said, which will not be possible due to the building’s proximity to the highway and an intersection. The site also operates on septic and lacks sewer or water connections.
As an incentive to tear the building down, Clarke said the township granted the owners a 20-year development charge abatement to redevelop the site. Normally, a five-year abatement period would be granted before development charges would be incurred.
“As soon as you tear down a commercial building, you must rebuild within five years or you pay development charges,” Clarke explained. “Because we want this building gone … we extended their time. Part of the problem in that area, with no sewer and water, it's very difficult to build anything on that site.”
After closing, there was no possibility for the tavern to reopen, as adult entertainment is confined to industrial zoned areas of the township, Clarke said.
The Atherley Arms had been grandfathered in and permitted to continue operations under township zoning regulations, which expired upon its permanent closure.
It's not known what the future plans are for the site.
