The owner of the West Walkerville Hotel says the fire that destroyed the building on Friday was a real shock, but he's not giving up on the space even if their immediate plans now have to change.
Fire crews in Windsor were called to the scene of the former Champs bar in the area of Wyandotte Street and Parent Avenue just after 4 a.m. Friday morning.
The building was under renovations for a multi-million dollar boutique hotel and themed restaurant.
Fire Chief Stephen Laforet told AM800 they arrived to find heavy fire and smoke pouring from the second and third floors.
Just last week the plans for the building to be developed into a boutique hotel were announced.
Graeme Thompson with Thompson Asset Management says it was really sad to see the situation play out, with the walls of the building having fallen down as a result.
He says with the support they had for the project, he'd really love to keep the vision going.
"Obviously we have to go through a process here now with insurance, cleaning up the site, and getting things re-planned. But I would love to propose a boutique hotel once again," he said.
Thompson says they had a fun plan in place, something that could help change the neighbourhood and something that people told him they really wanted to see.
He says the really sad part of this is they're losing a building that was built in 1909 as the Wyandotte Hotel.
"Part of me also wants to make the most of this and look on the bright side. And say 'OK, we can reimagine something here or rework the vision' and build something similar or along the same lines that people can utilize and enjoy."
Thompson says there's obviously a number of steps between where they are now and what they hope to salvage from this in the future.
"So we'll be working away. Unfortunately we had a quick announcement, quick turnaround time, quick plan to turn everything around. That's all changed, so it's going to take some time to be able to finish this thing. But we're hopeful and we want to get through it," he said.
Windsor Fire reported Friday evening that demolition crews were on scene to secure the building.
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire, the cause has been listed as undetermined and there's an estimated $1.5 million in damages.
The Ontario Fire Marshal has been notified.