Heritage important to new owners of 189 High Street Southampton

 

by Samantha Trumbley

You may have noticed the construction happening at 189 High St (the old Harrigan’s building) and rumours abound.

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce Jules and Sonja Fabbri, the new owners of 189 High Street. Local business-people, Jules and Sonja are passionate about Southampton. They fell in love with this beautiful beach town many years ago and have since focused their real estate developments in Southampton and Port Elgin, because they want to help maintain the heritage of the buildings that they love. Jules and Sonja are dedicated to preserving the history of 189 High St. with the modern standards needed in today’s world.

The buildings at 189 High St. were in poor shape structurally but Jules and Sonja had hoped to maintain the original brick façade by sandblasting the bricks and bringing their beauty back. However, the bricks were crumbling and unfortunately, not salvageable. The interiors could not be brought up to code and had been deemed unsafe. Saddened by the news, and against their original intentions, it was clear the buildings needed a significant amount of work and had to be brought back to original foundations and structural walls. Once brought back to original foundations, the buildings can be rebuilt safely as code compliant and with modern standards.

Jules and Sonja intend to save as many of the original features as possible to incorporate into the finished design, including old wood timbers.

Jules and Sonja along with Murawsky Design and local Project Manager, Andrew Hill Contracting, will be rebuilding a three-storey building at 189 High St. The new design is inspired by the original heritage of Southampton, much like the recently renovated Dizzy Bird Café, with brick and detailed craftsmanship. There will be two storefronts on the street level and five apartments above. Two of the apartments will be two-storey loft-style, with views of beautiful downtown Southampton.

      Artistic rendering of future building – for                   larger view, Click on Image

Applications for the two storefronts are welcome starting in the Spring of 2022. Currently, they have no commitments for these stores, but have received many inquiries from different types of businesses. The anticipated occupancy for the entire building is late 2022 /early 2023.

   Samantha Trumbley, Jules and Sonja Fabbri

Jules and Sonja Fabbri want the community to know that they are invested in the history and heritage of Southampton and are doing everything they can to maintain it. They hope to rebuild a building that will fit in seamlessly with all the beautiful architecture in Southampton.