The recent demolition of the former Taxandria Hall in Arkona has stirred a lot of memories and questions about what is planned next for the site.
Fallowfield Estate Owner Shannon Soetemans said she and her husband purchased the property early last year, and the building had already been stripped down to its bare bones.
"Which was great, because we were able to then see everything," said Soetemans. "We had five different local contractors come in and every single one of them said, 'this will be so hard to bring back,' because it was actually abandoned for about 15 years. So, it was quite rough. They said for a secure budget and timeline, it's going to be best to start new."
Van Bree Enterprises in Warwick was hired to carry out the demolition at the Arkona Road site.
"The building is completely down. We are leaving a small building in the front corner where services can come in, because it is going to be used for the next two years as a seasonal wedding venue with a luxury structure tent," Soetemans said.
The new venue is an addition to their other operations, Crescent Hill Acres [a wedding venue] near Forest and Lakeshore Rentals [a wedding decor rental company].
"We were finding that we were having to turn too many individuals away, so we started our hunt for another property that we could bring back to its former glory," Soetemans said. "To 'fallow land' is to leave it for a span of time so that it can rejuvenate. So, that's where we got the name Fallowfield from."
She said 12 events, mainly weddings, have been booked for the tent this year -- which is located at the back of the property near their ceremony site.
"It doesn't have polls in the middle... it is a completely open structure," Soetemans said. "We have a composite deck underneath of it, so that it is a perfect floor. Two of the ceiling panels are completely clear, which is very beautiful, the far end is completely clear, as is the south side. So [there is] lots of natural light."
While they aren't rushing on permanent plans, Soetemans said the goal is to bring a building back up to the front of that space.
"We want to do a really luxury, beautiful, timeless new building... kind of in that three year mark is where we're hoping to start," she said. "We've hired some amazing designers who specialize in this kind of thing. There's no secure plan quite yet, just because we want our focus to be on this wedding season. So, that's kind of a working progress in the background."
Soetemans said she and her husband -- who both grew up near the property -- recognize the history the old building had.
"My parents got married there, they had their wedding reception there, so there was a lot of good memories," she said. "It was not easy to take the building down. It was definitely a tough decision, but ultimately it was the best one to make for ourselves and our company, but also for the community."
Soetemans said they kept all of the red brick from the old building.
"The plan is to clean up all those bricks and do some really cool garden edge, and paths, and trying to find as many of the couples that were able to celebrate their weddings in the past... to come and sign a brick and have it there, because we know how sentimental that space was and we want to honour that," Soetemans said.
She also noted that a soccer field and new playground on an adjacent property won't be impacted.
"We are planning to plant some trees, so that we have a beautiful little bush fence in between," she said.
