Contest planned to rename Genosha Hotel
Feb 06, 2010 - 04:30 AM
By Jillian Follert
OSHAWA -- The last lingering reminder of a strip club in downtown Oshawa was removed with fanfare this week.
On Feb. 1, Mayor John Gray joined Genosha Hotel developer Rick Summers to watch as a black and yellow sign advertising the infamous Million Dollar Saloon was pried from the hotel's brick wall.
"This is a re-branding of Oshawa," Mr. Summers said. "The downtown isn't the kind of place that has strip clubs anymore. It's the kind of place that has nice restaurants and university students and lots of good things happening."
At one time, the strip club and surrounding bars largely defined downtown Oshawa.
But, councillors say significant efforts have been made to remove so-called "undesirable uses" from the area, as revitalization efforts move forward.
Oshawa broke new ground in 2005 when it became the first municipality in Canada to implement an adult entertainment bylaw. In the past, other communities had tried unsuccessfully to ban strip clubs, and were shot down by the courts.
Oshawa opted to regulate adult entertainment by requiring that it be licensed and limited to specific zones. Today, strip clubs and other adult entertainment venues can only operate in one area of south Oshawa, near General Motors.
Mayor Gray said removing the sign from the Genosha is very symbolic.
"It marks the transformation of not only the hotel, but of the downtown in general," he said. "It's becoming a family friendly place."â?¨ The $6.1 million renovation of the downtown landmark will see the hotel turned into a multi-use building with 111 student apartment units on the upper floors and high-end commercial space on the ground level.
It sits just steps from the Regent Theatre, which was recently purchased by UOIT and will be used for classroom and lecture space, as well as community uses.
The Genosha project fell slightly behind schedule after lead paint was discovered. But, Mr. Summers said it is still on track to be complete in time for students to move in next fall.
He added that a contest to re-name the building will be launched this summer, similar to the one held in the 1920s that resulted in the hotel landing its unique name, a combination of "General Motors" and "Oshawa."
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