Two buildings in Petrolia’s downtown core have been demolished to make way for new medical office buildings.

Dr. Mike Hoben of Petrolia Dentistry owed the former dry cleaning building and the brick building on Albany Street and recently hired a crew demolish them and clear the land to make way for his new, one-storey dental building.

Hoben says he has been considering a fully accessible building for some time – his current location has a flight of stairs to reach the main office. He’d hoped to get space at the new Central Lambton Family Health Building but that didn’t happen. So he purchased the buildings on Albany and hired a demolition crew.

“We’re going to build a new, modern dental office…on one floor so it is totally accessible,” says Hoben.

The dentist received permission town council for construction Monday. He hopes work will begin this month. “I’m hoping to start this year – for sure – the question is does it get wrapped up in December or do we get pushed into the new year?”