When Kevin McFadden started renting out a small space on the main floor of 116 Hurontario St. to house the Collingwood Sweet Shoppe back in 2014, he didn’t yet have aspirations of eventually owning the entire building.
But a lot can change in 10 years.
On Feb. 18, McFadden was presented with a 2024 Collingwood Heritage Award for renovations he did on 116 Hurontario St. as a Collingwood location for British-based women’s clothing store FatFace.
McFadden was the owner of the Collingwood Sweet Shoppe, which previously occupied the main floor retail space.
After completing the recent renovations last year, the heritage award was icing on the cake.
“It’s nice to be recognized. Everybody’s just trying to do their little part for the community, to help the look of the downtown,” he told CollingwoodToday in an interview. “You want your town to look nice.”
McFadden moved to Collingwood with his son in 2014 from Kincardine.
“We were coming here to ski twice a week. We had moved here in the fall, and I was downtown and saw a for-rent sign in this window,” McFadden recalls.
From 2014 to 2017, McFadden ran the Collingwood Sweet Shoppe out of the space, after he had previously started a candy shop in Grand Bend.
In 2017, an opportunity came up for McFadden to purchase the entire building from owner Sid Dickinson. He's living in the renovated two-bedroom apartment with a games room that takes up the second floor in 2018.
“Why would you not? It’s downtown Collingwood. It’s only going in the right direction,” he said. “For years, I took 17 steps to work. I love living in the downtown.”
The shop’s storefront officially closed on Dec. 31, 2023, although McFadden still creates confections for private orders. His eye has more recently turned to ice cream, and he is set to launch McFadden’s Ice Cream in retail stores in 2025.
However, McFadden said he knew the building needed some love if he was going to attract a new quality tenant for the retail space.
“This building needed an update. It was pretty tired-looking,” he said. “I wanted to keep up with how the downtown is going.”
Renovations started in January 2024, wrapping up in April.
As part of the recent heritage renovation, McFadden took the main floor almost down to the studs including work to remove a load-bearing wall. A previously-existing hallway to the left of the storefront has been absorbed into the store space. New windows and doors were added.
McFadden said he faced many challenges along the way with the most recent renovation – including nearly doubling his original budget as more bills came in – however he said the bones of the steel structure were good and he kept faith that it would work out in the end.
And it did.
“I had gone to Home Depot and bought a little for-rent sign. I put the sign up in the window at like 2 p.m.,” he said. “Not half an hour later, a lady walked in to inquire about the for-rent sign. It was the real estate agent for FatFace. They had been looking here for a year to find the right location.”
“It was pretty crazy,” said McFadden.
FatFace officially opened in Collingwood’s downtown in early June 2024. The company took over with adding finishes to the interior of the retail space.
“It was nice to get a tenant like this to put some investment in,” he said. “They’ve been great to work with. I think the store is great for the downtown.”
Looking toward the future, McFadden would like to get a roof-top patio built one day.
When asked what advice he’d offer to anyone considering their own heritage renovation in Collingwood, McFadden said consultation with the town is key.
“There are a few extra expenses, but outside of that, you’re upgrading your building and making it look better which will probably increase its value at the end of the day,” he said. “I don’t think it's anything to shy away from. The town was great to work with when you’re upfront and honest with them.”