The Preston Springs Hotel, then called the Del Monte Hotel, was operating prior to 1888, and featured of grounds with gardens and lawns. The primary attraction was the mineral baths in the basement, whose high sulphur content was believed to cleanse the body and treat arthritis and rheumatism. A competing facility next door, the Sulphur Springs Hotel, opened in the mid 1890s, and a nearby hotel, the North American (renamed the Kress Hotel in 1900), had opened in 1840. Walder sold the Del Monte in 1903; a later owner, A.R. Kauffman, renamed it Preston Springs, and the facility remained successful as a health spa until 1940. After the war, it closed for some years, eventually becoming a retirement and care facility, until closing in 1990, when the building was boarded up, and remained vacant. The building was vacant since 2012. The city considered issuing a demolition order but in June 2020, the matter was referred to a provincial tribunal that handles disputes on heritage properties. Finally, the city ordered an emergency demolition in late December 2020 for reasons of public safety; the work began on 30 December.