Heritage Home to undergo transformationJASON LIEBREGTS / METROLAND
Heritage Home to undergo transformation
WHITBY -- The Town of Whitby will be making changes to a heritage building, Crawforth House, and building a new structure using brickwork from the original structure.
Councillors decide to mingle the old with the new for revamping of Crawforth House
Dec 03, 2008 - 10:35 AM
By Parvaneh Pessian
WHITBY -- It won't be just any brick in the wall when the historical Crawforth House finally gets its long-awaited facelift.
The town's planning and development committee has decided to restore the building using the brickwork from the original structure.
The 1 1/2-storey brick structure -- located at 4110 Garden St. -- dates back to about 1850 and sports the only farmhouse design of its kind in Whitby. Despite not being officially designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, it is on Whitby's heritage significance list and is a valued part of the community's history, councillors agreed.
That's why there have been delays in deciding the fate of the site despite an original intention to demolish it on the grounds of mould contamination, said applicant Colin McLaughlin from Casewood Holdings Inc.
"Our proposal that the brick be salvaged and incorporated into plans (for the new structure) retain the integrity of the architecture . . . which we believe is the appropriate and the only solution for maintaining it."
The plans to remove the home were brought forth by staff alongside further development ideas for the lands located on Garden Street. Staff is looking to permit additional uses of a day nursery, and business and professional office in the area to open it up to more retail and recreational opportunities.
The town's Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LACAC) fought for the preservation of the Crawforth House, insisting that it be gutted and rebuilt to serve the needs of the new development while maintaining the heritage value.
But due to the size of the building, lack of interest from the public and unsuccessful attempts to relocate the building, the viability of the entire development project is now being threatened, Mr. McLaughlin said.
"We want those spaces there, we want those jobs in Whitby and we want that revenue coming, but at this point, we're pretty close to the stage where we're not going to be able to do that."
Rebuilding partial facades of the house using salvaged masonry from the original is the ideal course of action for the project, Mayor Pat Perkins said.
"We have to identify that we're at the end of the road," she said, adding that the solution is "the next best thing" in the effort to preserve the structure to the best of the town's ability.
"I think there's some good things that can come out (this decision) and the fact that you have offered to utilize that brickwork into the new structure. It's been done in other places and it can be done very nicely. I think it will all work out."
Coun. Sue Pitchforth, the mayor's designate on LACAC, urged the need for staff to keep the lines of communication open with the committee to ensure that both sides find a common ground.â?¨ "I drive by (Crawforth House) every day and it saddens me greatly to see the state of what it looks like," she said.
Coun. Lorne Coe also maintained the importance of preserving heritage value within the town, but said it's important to know when to make a compromise.
"At the end of the day, we have great outcome for the town, we have jobs coming into the town and we have taxes coming into the town and we can proceed with the project."
Committee members carried a motion to incorporate the bricks from the existing structure into the new building and for LACAC to be permitted to offer input on the new design.
