Historic downtown Nelson building gets revitalized

A grand old lady gets a major facelift

1 of 6Greg Haydu, co-owner and the face of a small group of Nelson businesspeople who purchased and renovated the former Nelson Daily News building on Baker Street. — Colin Payne photo

2 of 6The board room at the new law offices of Pearkes & Fernandez. — Colin Payne photo

3 of 6The renovated interior. — Colin Payne photo

4 of 6The refreshed entrance to the heritage building. — Colin Payne photo

5 of 6The renovated interior. — Colin Payne photo

6 of 6The renovated interior. — Colin Payne photo

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The first stage of revitalizing the former Nelson Daily News building on Baker Street is nearing completion and the building’s new owners are seeking businesses interested in occupying the vibrant new space.

A group of local businesspeople led by Nelson lawyer Timothy Pearkes and his legal assistant Greg Haydu purchased the building in May 2011 with short-term plans to turn it into office and retail space, then add a condominium development in the long term.

In just over a year the local contractors working on the project have completely gutted the interior of the building and rebuilt it from the ground up to create thousands of square feet available to be leased as office or retail space.

Respecting the past

Pearkes and Haydu recently moved into their elegant new office space on the second floor of the building and are quite happy with it.

“The move was great,” said Haydu, spokesperson for the owners. “It almost had an element of coming home. This is where our office is going to be and two of the owners are working in this office. It was really satisfying to make that move.”

In an effort to help incorporate some of the 110-year-old building’s history and heritage into the new space, the new owners utilized original timber beams in the new furniture.

“We completely replaced the structural components, and the 100-year-old timber that we took out, we incorporated it into our desks,” Haydu said.

So far, the group has found one major tenant that will be taking over a large section of the ground floor space—a rock ‘n' roll-themed franchise hair salon called the Chop Shop.

The rest of the renovated space in the building, about 4,000 square feet, is currently up for grabs and ready to accommodate just about any kind of business.

“Anything is possible,” Haydu said. “We’ve had people from health fields, the investment field, the retail field and more—a real diverse cross-section. People walk in and are taken with what we’ve done so far, so hopefully we’ll just draw people from all different business backgrounds and business ventures.”

He added that the project has been planned in such a way that future construction will offer minimal disruption to current tenants, and spaces can be easily customized to meet the needs of any business.

Future plans

With the completion of the first phase within sight, the group is thinking ahead to the other phases of the project. The second phase involves the completion of a mezzanine level at the back of the building that would have an entrance from Herridge Lane and provide further office and retail space. Phase 3 involves construction of condominiums on the existing roof of the one-storey side of the building.

Also of note are plans to build a private social club in the renovated 2,000-square-foot basement of the building.

The Goldfields Social Club, named after the company that originally built the Nelson Daily News building in 1899, will operate as a non-profit society and offer members 24/7 access to a lounge area, satellite television, wireless Internet and other entertainment that could include a pool table, virtual golf, darts and poker, a bar, private liquor lockers for members, washrooms with showers and possibly a sauna and steam bath, as well as a number of other services and features.