The Pelissier St. Parking Garage will soon be just that.
The retail space currently taking up the ground floor will be converted to parking.
As AM800 News told you back in June, council voted 6-5 in favour of maintaining the ground level as commercial lease space.
Mayor, Drew Dilkens says the plan was to invest in renovations if a landlord with a solid plan for the space comes forward, but that didn't happen.
"You had a realtor here, you had someone from the DWBIA and they were absolutely certain that there were five people who would come forward and they each had a number of folks who were very, very interested and that didn't materialize in any significant way so we had one proponent. That proponent did not meet the minimum requirements," says Dilkens.
"Believe me, it was a very, very affordable rate. City council has done a number of things, both this council and the past councils in terms of marketing the space with the realtor, setting aside the money to guarantee if someone came forward that we would undertake renovations and waterproofing," Dilkens adds.
Tenants currently in the retail space will be given six-months notice to vacate before the city takes over.
Council had previously agreed to spend $500,000 in renovations for the garage if a landlord with a solid plan for the space comes forward. Dilkens says to abandon that retail plan and convert it to parking will cost about the same amount.