KITCHENER — The old building at 195 Joseph St. that is associated with one of the city's first big industrialists will be restored to brick-and-beam office space and leased to a tenant with a global brand.

"I can now confirm that we're committed to restoring 195 Joseph St. to accommodate a top-tier, global professional-services organization," Michael Emory, the chief executive officer of Allied REIT Property, said in an email Wednesday.

Allied REIT Property bought the tannery — one known as the Hide House — in 2012 for $61.7 million from Cadan Inc., which renovated and restored the main tannery buildings across the street from 195 Joseph.

"The 23,373-square-feet of space will be restored to a very high standard and will be ready for occupancy by mid-2017," Emory said in the email. "We're pleased with this development, both for Allied's portfolio and for Kitchener's Warehouse District."

That building is next to the region's heart and soul of innovation — the Communitech Hub and the technology companies that located in the former tannery buildings across the street.

Emory's brief statement was greeted with relief and praise by heritage advocates. For more than five years that building was the subject of a demolition permit. But Allied has sent a letter to the City of Kitchener, saying it will not demolish the old, brick building that dominates the block.

"I am really glad to hear this," said Rick Haldenby, professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture. "This is great."

The building at 195 Joseph St. was a hide house where animal skins were stored. It was among five tannery buildings on that stretch of Joseph Street, but it was the only one left standing after demolitions in 2010.

"Thank goodness Cadan didn't tear down all of the buildings, we've got one of them still there, which I guess was the biggest one anyway, and the easiest to repurpose," Haldenby said.

"This one is a simple proposition, it is great space," Haldenby said of redeveloping 195 Joseph St.

Haldenby is supported by Kae Elgie, the president of the north Waterloo Region branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario.

"That's fantastic," Elgie said. "That's really good news."

She said it's is great to see a developer put a high premium on old buildings that are in short supply and great demand.

The fight against the demolitions five years ago spurred many residents into action. Elgie became active in the Architectural Conservancy, and Frank Etherington ran successfully for city council in 2010 on a platform that included stronger protection for historic properties.

"As far as that building is concerned, I am delighted," Etherington said. "I think we got really lucky to have a company like Allied that is interested in saving those old, brick-and-beam buildings."

Before Allied bought the complex of tannery buildings in 2012, the ones on Joseph Street were at the centre of a bitter dispute in 2010.

On one side were residents and heritage advocates that wanted the old, historic buildings saved and redeveloped. On the other was the developer Cadan Inc., which wanted to demolish the buildings to make way for a gravel parking lot. Cadan promised to build a parking garage within three years.

Neither city councillors nor city bureaucrats did anything to protect the buildings, which came down during August and September 2010. It was a clear violation of the city's Official Plan at the time, which called for protecting the old buildings in the warehouse district, and discouraging more surface parking.

Cadan never built the parking garage, and sold the tannery properties to Allied REIT Property.

Allied owns and manages a portfolio of Class 1 office space in urban neighbourhoods across Canada. It has a reputation for saving, restoring and repurposing old buildings into industrial-chic offices.

The building at 195 Joseph St. was among five, single-storey brick buildings at the base of the last industrial smokestack in the city centre that rises 180 feet above the ground. The stack was spared demolition and protected under the Ontario Heritage Act — a move derided by heritage advocates as "remnants syndrome."

The Lang Tanning Company was founded in 1848 by Rheinhold Lang. It was Kitchener's first major industry, and operated for more than 100 years, closing in 1954. Lang was elected to city council, and was instrumental in the creation of what was called "The Factory Policy," which provided tax breaks to new industrial enterprises.

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It was the largest supplier of sole leather in the British Empire at one time. During the First World War, it produced boot soles and saddle leather for Canadian and British troops. During the Second World War, it provided boot soles and the leather linings for aircraft fuel tanks.

After the old tannery was redeveloped, Communitech, the region's innovation hub, moved there. D2L and a long list of other tech companies followed. There are dozens of startups in and around the building now.

The buildings that formed the first large industry in Kitchener are now the biggest source of startups that are slowly, but steadily populating old and unused spaces around the downtown.