RECOMMENDATION:
THAT Council declares the
dwelling known as the “Joseph Marr House”, located at 8992 Reesor
Road to be eligible for relocation to Markham Heritage
Estates subject to the following conditions:
- The
prospective purchaser of the building must provide accurate, realistic and
detailed drawings of the house, prepared by a professional architect or
designer, and provide an accurate representation of the final height of
the house in the Heritage Estates;
- The
height of the house in the Heritage Estates is to be consistent with the
height of the house at its original location;
AND THAT a Heritage Conservation
Easement be required as a condition of relocation to
the Markham Heritage Estates;
AND THAT the owner be required to advertise the availability of the building to
those individuals who have expressed an interest in the Markham Heritage
Estates concept and in the local newspapers.
PURPOSE:
To
recommend to Council that “The Joseph Marr House” at 8992 Reesor
Road be declared eligible for relocation to the
Markham Heritage Estates subdivision.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The
Joseph Marr House, located at 8992
Reesor Road has been identified by the Region of York as being directly impacted by
the imminent construction of the Markham By-pass. The subject house is a significant heritage
building and has been recommended by Heritage Markham to be eligible for
relocation to the Markham Heritage Estates.
BACKGROUND:
Property is
directly impacted by Markham By-Pass
The Region of York and Unterman
McPhail Associates (the Markham By-pass heritage
consultant), have confirmed that the above property will be directly affected
by displacement resulting from the construction of the Markham By-pass. An historic documentation report has been
made available to the Town by the consultant.
The consultant has recommended that the Town proceed with the
administrative procedures to enable the building to be considered for
relocation as soon as possible, as the Markham By-Pass construction schedule
will be initiated by the Spring of 2005.
The dwelling was constructed circa 1848 for Benjamin Marr
The dwelling is located on the east half of Lot 14,
Concession 9 which was originally granted to William Marr, a United Empire
Loyalist in 1809. The dwelling was
likely built circa 1848 as the first home for Joseph Marr, the second son of
William and Phoebe Marr. The Marrs were an active farming family in the Markham
area.
The dwelling is a simple 1½
storey Ontario farmhouse built in the Georgian/Neo-Classical style with a
medium pitched roof and evidence of returned eaves (see Appendix ‘B’). The building is of brick construction, with a
wooden wing at the rear of later 19th Century vintage. The building has a 3 bay façade with a
decorative entranceway and transom. It
is believed that the house was a flat front house with no veranda, although it
may have originally had shutters.
Heritage Markham recommends relocation to Markham Heritage Estates
From August to October,
2004, Town (Heritage Section) staff visited the property on a number of
occasions to assess its heritage significance.
It was noted that the house is in relatively good condition with much of
the original exterior architectural detailing still intact as well as
significant interior elements in the south section of the house and rear wing
which was built in the later 19th Century.
At
its meeting of September 8, 2004, Heritage Markham
recommended that the Joseph Marr House at 8992 Reesor
Road be made eligible for relocation to the Markham
Heritage Estates Subdivision.
OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:
Building Eligibility Criteria
The building eligibility
criteria for Markham Heritage Estates provide that:
·
only significant heritage
buildings which are threatened and cannot be retained on their original sites
are eligible for the subdivision;
·
buildings should be listed on the Markham Inventory of Heritage
Buildings;
·
buildings must be located within the present boundaries of the Town;
·
buildings located in heritage
conservation districts and study areas will generally not be considered; and
·
only those structures classified as Group 1 or 2 will be
considered suitable candidates.
The Joseph Marr House would
appear to satisfy all five criteria for eligibility for relocation to Markham
Heritage Estates. The building is in the
path of the Markham By-Pass, on the Heritage Inventory, not in a heritage
district and has been classified as a Group 2 structure. The structure has also been recommended for
designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act by Council.
Council
amended the above criteria on December
8, 1992 in order to clarify the matters to be considered when
evaluating the “threat of loss” of a heritage building (See Appendix ‘C’). Two additional criteria would appear to be
relevant to this situation:
·
The extent to which the building may be threatened with loss by virtue of incompatible land uses in the
immediate vicinity;
·
The extent to which the building may be threatened with loss as a
result of dislocation by public works, such as highway construction or major
road widening;
The above information on the
building’s heritage significance and relocation eligibility is provided to
assist Council when considering the Heritage Markham recommendation for
relocation to Markham Heritage Estates.
Determination of the suitability of any heritage building
for relocation to Markham Heritage Estates is at the discretion of
Council. If Council supports the
relocation, the owner should be required to advertise the availability of the
dwelling to those individuals who have expressed an interest in the Markham
Heritage Estates concept as well as in the local newspapers.
Marr House was
assessed as part of the Markham Heritage Estates Study
Town (Heritage Section) staff
considered the Joseph Marr House as part of the “Markham Heritage
Estates Study of Threatened Heritage Resources for Remaining Lots (2004)”. The building
was assessed according to the evaluation system devised for the previously
noted report. The Marr House scored 75
points out of 100 and was ranked 34th out of the 130 buildings
located within the Town of Markham which are potentially threatened.
Although not listed in the top 16 threatened buildings in Markham, the Marr House was only 5 points less than the
number required for inclusion. The
immediacy of the threat to this house, which at the present time is higher than
any other house in Markham, reinforces the justification for declaring the Marr House to be
eligible for relocation to the Markham Heritage Estates.
Heritage Markham recommended
relocation of the house to a specific lot
In consideration of the size of the
house, similarity to other dwellings already existing in the Markham Heritage
Estates (1 ½ storey, Georgian Style, Red Brick) and the need to protect for any
future lot line adjustments that might be required for larger houses, Heritage
Markham recommended that the Marr House be considered for relocation to the
parcel municipally known as #3 Heritage Corners Lane only. The ranking of the Marr House at 34th
place was due primarily to it being a 1 ½ storey red brick, Georgian styled
building with a 3-bay façade, of which there are already 6 examples in the
subdivision. The building is however a,
good example of this type of building, and of architecture from the late
colonial period. Although this building
should not be considered for a context adjacent to other similar buildings, it
is the opinion of Town (Heritage Section) staff and Heritage Markham if the
house were placed towards the entrance to the heritage estates it would make a
significant contribution to the historical and architectural landscape of the
subdivision.
Heritage Markham recommended
base criteria to be followed for restoration of house
In order to ensure that any
prospective purchaser is aware of the requirements for accurate restoration of
the Marr House once it is relocated to the Markham Heritage Estates, Heritage
Markham has recommended that the following conditions be attached to the
approval of the house for relocation to the Markham Heritage Estates:
- The
prospective purchaser of the building, must provide accurate, realistic
and detailed drawings of the house, prepared by a professional architect
or designer, and provide an accurate representation of the final height of
the house in the Heritage Estates;
- The height
of the house in the Heritage Estates is to be consistent with the height
of the house at its original location;
Options for relocation of house to adjacent site discussed with adjacent
property owner
Prior to considering the
eligibility of the Marr House for relocation to the Markham Heritage Estates,
Town (Heritage Section and Planning Department) staff engaged in discussions
with the owner of the adjacent lands within the Cornell Secondary Plan area to
permit relocation of the house to a lot within the future plan of
subdivision. The owner of the subject
property was not interested in pursuing this option. The phasing of the subdivision as well as
servicing issues affected the viability of this proposal. The Region of York was also not in a position
to acquire a lot in the subdivision, to relocate the dwelling and sell it. The adjacent property owner on the east side
of Reesor Road is the TRCA who are also not
interested in accepting the relocated heritage building.
Marr House Satisfies the Criteria
The Marr House satisfies the
criteria for relocation to Markham Heritage Estates. It is recommended that Council declare the
building as being eligible for relocation to the Markham Heritage Estates and
that the owner be required to advertise the availability of the dwelling for
relocation to the Markham Heritage Estates.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
None
ENGAGE 21ST
CONSIDERATIONS:
This project aligns with the corporate goal of
achieving a Quality Community through recognizing, promoting and strengthening
a sense of community
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
Heritage
Markham has been consulted as to the significance of the structure.
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1 - Proposed lot
for house within the Markham Heritage Estates
Appendix
‘A’ - Historical and Architectural
information regarding the Marr House
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Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director of Planning & Urban Design
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Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Commissioner of Development Services
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FIGURE
1
FILEPATH: Q:\Development\Heritage\PROPERTY\REESOR\8992\PMS 1123
Relocation.doc
APPLICANT: Grant Robinson
Regional Municipality of York
Transportation
and Works Department
17250 Yonge
Street,
Newmarket, Ontario, L3Y 6Z1
