Hacienda Sereda
First built in 1902, the Hacienda has lived many lives: A sugar mill, a distillery, a scrap metal yard, a steel factory, and an event space.
Accessory buildings and architectural styles have come and gone, but much of the original “buff yellow clay” bricks (common to so many late-19th century buildings in Southern Ontario) have survived. The property was largely reconfigured during WWII in order to salvage its structural steel for the war effort.
An Event Space is Born
In 2005, local entrepreneur and philanthropist Ron Doyle purchased and renovated the main building with a Spanish flair, envisioning an artisan coffee roaster with on-site event space. The coffee company didn’t survive, but the beautiful structure did, and the Hacienda was born.
Ron passed away in 2021. He will be remembered for his visionary support of Kitchener’s street population, funding “A Better Tent City”, an innovative approach to housing that emphasizes dignity and stability for vulnerable populations, through the provision of secure low-cost structures with shared amenities and embedded social services, in a self-managed community.