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The village of Colchester, nestled along the Essex County wine route and adjacent to the shores of Lake Erie, will soon be getting its groove on as construction begins on the Grove Retro Motel.
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Designed by Architectural Design Associates, the motel will reflect the ’70s retro-modern movement and feature 30 suites, each with a different theme.
“We’re very excited to now be able to offer something to the community,” said co-owner Jennifer Flynn. “This has been a long time coming.
“We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day and the location, it just speaks to everything obviously this property and this community has to offer us.”
Flynn said she’s already getting phone calls from couples planning weddings next year and needing accommodations.
“I’ve already got all the themes picked (for the suites),” Flynn said. “We’ve done everything from something very retro ’70s, kind of hipster, hippy style (and) our honeymoon suite will be like no other. I have a red, heart-shaped tub in my garage already.
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“We want to create that wow factor when people walk in. It’s something unique.”
Partner Jim Flynn said the price tag on the project, which is located at 96 County Rd. 50 W., at the intersection with Dunn Road, “is growing daily.”
“We’re at about five and a half million dollars today,” he said. “We’re trying to keep those costs under control but in today’s environment it is what it is.”
They’re aiming for a spring 2023 opening for the motel in the quaint beach-front village.
Essex Mayor Richard Meloche called the project “a vote of confidence in the community,” adding it will be a boost for wineries looking for guest accommodations and a regional hub for tourism and biking.
“I do think this will be a good starting point for spurring more development, and likely more commercial development,” Meloche said. “There’s a push to have commercial (businesses) from right here at Dunn (Road) all the way over to Erie (Road) through the downtown here.”
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Meloche said he’s spoken with others who are interested in opening small shops or boutiques but wanting to keep that “small hometown atmosphere.”
“You can see right down to the lake from this piece of property,” he said. “This was always the idea. When the town purchased this property … controlled commercial development was what we were looking at.”
The Flynns purchased the property from the town in 2021.
They also opened a bike rental business called Grove Bike Company, a mobile bike shop, last summer, locating it in the park across the street from the building site.
“It’s been wonderful and because we have the e-bikes too it makes it accessible for anybody,” Jennifer said. “So anybody that hasn’t biked can hop on and not kill themselves trying to get to the first winery.”
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Jennifer, who is from the Tyendinaga First Nation, said the project is very meaningful for her as an Indigenous woman.
“Currently, Indigenous women represent only .06 per cent of business owners in Canada and face a number of barriers to entrepreneurial success,” she said.
“(This project) represents Indigenous women taking their seat at the economic table in the present day but its retro look and feel help remind me of the challenges that many before me have overcome so that I can be standing here talking about this project now.
“I’m so proud of this motel. It will add something fun and quirky to Colchester’s waterfront, will be an anchor point of the local tourism sector and help build the regional economy.”