Riviera on the Lake

The Riviera Motor Court began operations in 1963. The two level, 32-room motel offered guests a beautiful view of Lake Ontario along the back portion of the motel.

The earliest information for a manager that I was able to find was a Mr. William Dikeman. In 1984 the motel was bought by Mr. John Lee who incorporated it as 558644 Ontario Limited.

The last managers to operate the business were Peter and Yolanda Piekarski. Annual profits were in the area of $242,000.

In 2006, Burlington city council approved plans for a new construction project on the property. The project, known as Bridgewater, has been delayed over the years due to economic factors as well as difficulty in obtaining a developer and hotel partner. Details of Bridgewater are to have a 7-storey hotel at street level, a 7-storey condo behind the hotel and to the west of both buildings, a 22-storey condo. The condo would obscure the view of Lake Ontario for those living in the condos on the opposite side of Lakeshore. The new buildings would feature a central courtyard open to the public that would lead to the walkway along the water.

The property is owned by Mayrose Tycon who, since 1994, have been attempting find a developer to undertake the construction and to take over the property. To date no progress has been made with the property. Mayrose Tycon was informed by Conservation Halton that if no development had occurred on the property by the end of 2012 they would lose between 15 to 20 feet of shoreline property under the new Ontario Regulation 162/06.

Despite the delays and no progression, the goal is for the hotel to be completed in time for the Pan Am Games in 2015.

As for the Riviera (on the Lake), in 2010 the writing was on the wall. They began offering rooms on a monthly basis only. The Region of Burlington paid Riviera to house the cities homeless people and immigrants.

In April of 2012 the municipal building code department and fire department served a notice on the owners that they needed to bring the building up to code or close it down. The owners decided to close the building which was boarded up.

On August 18 the building came one step closer to demolition when a fire broke out in the hotel, caused by arson.