Newmarket council eyes demolition of Main Street's old fire hall

Staff to write report on parking lot option after meeting Monday

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 29, 2015
By Chris Simon

The days may be numbered for Main Street's old fire hall.

Council is expected to ask staff to prepare a report regarding the potential demolition of the building, located at 140 Main St. S., during a meeting Monday night.

If approved, the report will be presented to councillors within 120 days. It will explore the feasibility of knocking down the hall to repurpose the site as a parking lot.

Other potential solutions for the enhancement of parking in the core will also be presented at that time, Councillor Dave Kerwin said.

"We can come up with some solutions to solve some of the parking issues we have in the downtown core," he said, during a town committee meeting Monday. "(The fire hall) has been vacant since the end of 2010. We've dealt with parking in the downtown for 100 years. We should be proud of the core being such a success story."

The building opened in August 1952, but closed once the Davis Drive fire hall opened in 1971. It re-opened as the original home of the Elman W. Campbell Museum in 1982 and has also been used by the Upper Canada Chordsmen and York Highlands Chorus. However, the building has sat vacant for several years and is currently used for storage.

"If staff can bring forward any existing or new options to enhance the parking that could be considered along with this, we can analyze and see what makes sense," Regional Councillor John Taylor said.