Goderich Signal Star, 2011-10-05, Page 3.rich Signal -Star • Wednesday, October 5, 2011
uncil approves demolitions for downtown heritage properties
erne it sounded
eith knell, for oth -
as the first step to
the healing proc-
Ig for a crippled
wn.
cit began exercis-
ir sad but neces
ter, as Councilor
Yates put it,
ng the first wave
tage demolition
at their Septem
feting.
e ten heritage
the docket, three
quiring demoli-
o of those three
s date back to the
19th century.
property at 29-33
n Street, owned
r Lane, cont ns
olrn's TV and
h Grill. Record of
-storey building
ound as far back
and as Yates
pointed out, while emo-
tionally people wish it
could stay, 'Intellectu-
ally, we know It has to
come down."
Heritage Chair, Coun.
Kevin Morrison, read
from the engineer's
report, which stated the
structure is a total loss.
Like so many buildings
downtown, rain com-
pounded the extent of the
damage.
"Collapse ramaine a
threat as long as it's
standing," Morrison read
from the. report.
The building is only
listed as potentially sig-
nificant, however, the
facades are included in
the Part V Heritage Dis-
trict downtown.
Two conditions were
'added to the application
- that a new facade be
replicated in accordance
with a Heritage Impact
Assessment made Sep-
tember 19, and that the
rebuild application be
made to the Municipal
and Marine Heritage
Committee.
Coun. Jim Donnelly
called shenanigans on
the conditions, saying a
refusal based on those
conditions would be
nothing short of negli-
gence on the town's part.
"There should be no
attempt to put conditions
on a permit (Lane) is
more than entitled to, he
said. "It is wrong in such
a dear case to attach con-
ditions of a future
building."
Rather, he said, if the
town is serious about
heritage, they should be
willing to pay for it. Oth-
erwise, he said, the build-
ing owner is paying for
their own loss and the
town's.
Lane expressed come
confusion with the terms
as well.
"We're content with
Gerard tis Gogh Sepal -Star
Workers beget tearing down the back portion of 56-58 the Square, atter a partial demolition permit was
given to address safety concerns. Owner Rainer Behn received a full demolition pent* Sept 26, which also
Included an application to rebuild.
the demolition part but not
with the condition," he said.
"It is handcuffing us a bit to
do a front wall in similar
brick."
"How can we retain a
facade that doesn't exist?"
asked Coun. Judy Crawford.
Planner Denise
VanAmersfoort explained
though the building may be
gone, the designation exists
on the property as part of a
heritage district.
The architectural report
pegs stabilization and
retention of the facade
between $300-500,000 while
a reproduction is estimated
at $300-400,000.
Built in 1882, the Coffee
Culture building at 56-58
Courthouse Square, owned
by Rainer Behn, is one of the
most architecturally
impressive structures in the
downtown core. Behn was
already granted a partial
demolition to take down the.
ruined back part of the
ntts aretaking loner an we oped
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building, which was considered an
emergency situation and .a safety
hazard. According to the architect's
report, the rest has to go.
"It is not viable to retain the existing
building structure and the remaining
facade facing the Square," states the
report by Alan Avis. "It is our
recommendation that the entire
building be removed with some
original building fabric salvaged for
reuse in a replacement building."
Load bearing masonry, broken joists
and floor and roof framing were all
compromised, and as with the Kingston
Street properties, rain had caused
significant damage after the fact.
The demolition was approved
without condition.
Built far later than the previous two,
68 West Street, home of Huron
Optometry, dates back to 1948-50.
Roughly half of the walis and the entire
roof are missing from the building, and
the approval for demolition was given
without condition.
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with no worries)
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519-357-3015
WNW kruzinmannlimos.com