Paul Parfett has been working on cars at his garage in Pointe-Claire Village for nearly 40 years.
With his shop adjacent to the iconic Pioneer hotel — a business that has been around for about a century — he’s seen a lot of history, and he’s worried about the fate of the local landmark.
Last week, Global News learned that a development company is purchasing the Pioneer in a deal that has yet to be finalized. Parfett fears the building could be torn down, something that would take a lot of memories with it.
“There were horses and stables,” Parfett recalls. “The Pioneer across here used to be the Pointe-Claire Hotel, and people would come in the winter when there were no bridges here. They would come across from the country, stay here at the Pioneer, and their horses would be stabled here.”
READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Pointe-Claire’s iconic Pioneer may soon be sold, turned into condos
Parfett says he, too, has been approached by a developer interested in purchasing his 10,000 sq. ft. property.
He says if the city allows the Pioneer to be demolished and turned into condos, he fears for the future of his own building.
“This is next,” he said. “This place would be next.”
Parfett says he’s considering selling his garage and using that money to put an offer on the Pioneer.
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He doesn’t want to see the historic building torn down and turned into something it shouldn’t.
He’s not alone.
A petition was was started last week in an attempt to save the Pioneer. Almost 3,000 people have signed it.
READ MORE: ‘It’s a landmark’: Pointe-Claire residents vow to save the Pioneer
“I feel bad that everyone is protesting that the building is going, but really it’s an old, falling apart building,” said the Pioneer’s owner, Diane Marois. “I think their memories are much more valuable.”
Marois says the building has been on the market for years. She decided to list it after her husband passed away a few years ago.
Marois says business isn’t as great as it once was, the building is in bad shape, and she just isn’t able to keep it up any longer.
READ MORE: Pointe-Claire proposes to change building code for historic village
The offer from the developer was the only one she got, and she says the sale is pretty much a done deal.
“I think it’s a good looking plan,” she said. “Progress is happening everywhere. It’s not just in the village of Pointe-Claire.”
For now, the Pioneer is still open for business.
Marois says it’ll host a goodbye party before it officially closes the doors for good at the end of July.
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