On Friday January 7th, the Waterloo Regional Police announced that the fire which destroyed the Campus Court Plaza on University Avenue in April 2010 is now being treated as arson. This announcement was made after a report by the Ontario Fire Marshall was turned over to the Waterloo Regional Police. No further information about the findings of the Fire Marshall’s investigation or possible suspects have been made public at this time. A criminal investigation by the Waterloo Regional Police is now underway.
Rumors of arson, along with potential end motives circulated on social networking sites, such as Facebook almost immediately following the fire.
The plaza fire completely destroyed Sugar Mountain, University Vision Centre, Mr. Sushi, Tabu Night Club and the exceptionally popular Mel’s Diner. The cost of the blaze is estimated to be $3 million, and has put almost 100 people out of work.
Following the fire, the Ontario Fire Marshall was called in to carry out a physical investigation. Samples from the scene were sent to the Centre for Forensic Sciences in Toronto for analysis, a lengthy process, to which the delay in the conclusion of arson can be attributed to.
Presently it is uncertain if the land will be used to rebuild the plaza, as the land owner has received several offers for high density residential developments. Following the fire, initial speculation suggested that reconstruction of the plaza would begin in December; however reconstruction has yet to commence, as the process of acquiring the required permits is still underway. Once plans are approved by the city, it is estimated that the reconstruction process will take at least three months.
For those who miss the greasy goodness of Mel’s Diner, Jerry Smith, the owner of Mel’s Diner has announced that he plans to open a second location of Mel’s Diner in Kitchener at King St and Victoria St. Additionally, he also optimistically predicts that the Waterloo location could be up and running again in September.
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