"We also believe our hands-on, attention to detail approach is the right fit for the challenge of bringing a building back to life that has been dormant for almost a century," Roberts wrote in an email. He added that Tyrcathlen expects the restoration to commence this spring.

During a walkthrough of the building's upper floors Monday, he said the restoration could likely be accomplished in a matter of months.

But Roberts said he and Wood were pleased to find the flooring, moulding, and plaster in the upper floors in original condition. They are far from pristine. He said the windows have been boarded up for decades. They look out onto Basilica of Our Lady.

Roberts said there are an abundance of exceptional trades people in Guelph to bring in on the restoration job.

Neither the financial terms of the purchase nor the estimated cost of restoration and renovation are being disclosed. The deal is between Tyrcathlen and the building's owners Chris and Cathy Agelakos, who run the Apollo Eleven Restaurant on the ground floor. They have owned the building since the 1970s. The restaurant will close at the end of the month.

Roberts said the priority for Tyrcathlen Partners right now is to find prospective commercial tenants "that want to be part of the process of re-envisioning the use of the building."

He added that the upper floors with 18-20 foot ceilings have great potential as professional office space. The structure of those floors is sound. The third floor was once the inner sanctum of the International Order of Odd Fellows, with access to it from the group's main hall in the adjoining Kelly Building. The doorway has been blocked off by stone work.

The first stage of the project will be bringing the upper floors back into use, Roberts said. They have not been in use since the 1920s.

A "very thorough" inspection of the interior and structure – involving structural, environmental, and toxic substance reviews – was carried out. Roberts said the façade will need a closer inspection once an aerial lift can be brought to the site. One missing piece of the façade was found in the attic, but it may be missing other elements.

It remains to be seen what lies hidden under the exterior aluminum cladding above the Apollo Eleven sign.

Roberts said the high ceilings of the current restaurant location are hidden, and there is the potential to join the first and second storeys in a commercial or office space. Some ideas that have been discussed include a nano-brewery, a restaurant or a brassiere, all geared to serve an expected influx of residents in the downtown. The basement is also a usable space.

Roberts said the company is in the early stages of investigating external funding possibilities, but will make a further announcement on the subject after the purchase closes. The close is scheduled for the end of March.

Panabaker is Guelph's corporate manager of downtown renewal.

"The people who have purchased it have the capacity to do a really good job on it, take the time with it, and have a great thing happen," he said. "I think all of the options are open for Kirk and Peregrine to make some really unique-in-Ontario spaces out of it."

He said the Petrie Building's upper storeys have been boarded up since at least the 1950s.

"Over the years there were people coming in regularly to city hall to find out about it, to make approaches to the owners, and nothing ever came of it," he said. "It's been a longstanding area of concern for the community."

The façade is made from thin, pressed metal over wood, and the more it corrodes the thinner and more fragile it becomes. That has been a source of much of the worry about the unique feature.

Panabaker said Guelph has a heritage redevelopment policy and fund that has been used on sites like the Gummer Building, and it may be accessible for the Petrie Building as well. There are also funds from the community improvement plan for the downtown that the project may be eligible for.

Knight wrote in an email that he is confident that, with the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario Guelph-Wellington branch taking the lead, "there will be support for the façade restoration."

Tyrcathlen Partners will work jointly with the conservancy on restoration techniques and to raise funds to replicate missing façade elements. A fundraising campaign is being planned. Funds will be donated to the architectural conservancy.

"I think it will be amazing for that section of Wyndham Street, because it's such a landmark with the one next door, the Kelly Building," said Susan Ratcliffe, president of the architectural conservancy's Guelph-Wellington branch. "Because of its heritage value and uniqueness, we are going to be part of the fundraising campaign, being able to provide tax receipts for donations."

roflanagan@guelphmercury.com