The Queen’s Hotel, one of many historic buildings in downtown Simcoe, was located directly across from the Vallee office on Robinson Street. Vanderlaan Land Development purchased the building after it had fallen into a state of disrepair, with the intention of restoring the building to its former glory.

G. Douglas Vallee Limited was retained as the Heritage Architect, Civil Engineer, Structural Engineer, and Land Use Planner for the restoration project. Despite Vallee’s determination to save this historic building, investigations and studies revealed that it was not salvageable, at which point, Vallee was commissioned to prepare a design for a new building that would be sympathetic to the original heritage of the site.

The Heritage Architectural group at Vallee researched historic photos of the hotel, laser-scanned the dilapidated building prior to demolition, and made every effort in the design process to mimic the Queen’s Hotel within the new building design. Vallee was able to secure approval from Norfolk County Council to allow an encroachment onto Robinson Street to facilitate the construction of a portico of similar nature to the original Queen’s Hotel structure. By taking care to preserve its historic significance, the site has been revitalized to its former status as a landmark in the downtown area.

The new building is home to small-scale residential apartments, as well as a commercial space on the ground level.