A saga that began at the end of Bradford West Gwillimbury’s 2010-2014 council term is coming to a close at the start of the 2022-2026 council.
During the Dec. 6 council meeting, committee-of-the-whole recommended repealing the heritage designation for 108 Moore St. as “the Collings House has been demolished, and it was that building which was considered to possess attributes of cultural value.”
The home, ravaged by fire in 2018, was demolished earlier in 2022.
Removing the heritage designation will end a process that began more than eight years ago when council first listed the property on the heritage registry. The owner of the property, Delmark Homes, had indicated it wanted to tear down the house and put up three new homes on the site. Listing the property provided the town with the opportunity to determine what exactly the heritage value of the home was and if it should be saved.
Built in the 1880s, the home was built in the eclectic Gothic style. It was originally owned by Andrew Thompson, who owned a local hardware business. It became known as the Collings House when it was occupied by Norm and Jean Collings. Nicknamed “Dodger,” Norm Collings was a professional hockey player who competed in one game for the Montreal Canadiens during the 1934-35 season.
EPA Architects, the consultant retained by the town, concluded the property was worthy of protection due to the “cultural value” of the home, and in January 2015 council gave notice to designate. The owners objected and submitted an application to have the land severed into three separate building lots.
In 2016, the Conservation Review Board (CRB), and the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) met to decide on the property, with the CRB recommending council designate the property for protection under the Heritage Act and the OMB allow for one additional lot on the property, subject to conditions.
The fire in 2018 changed everything.
The property was vacant when the home went up in flames in July 2018, a blaze deemed “suspicious” by the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office. After the fire, council approved a heritage designation bylaw for the property, as even though there had been significant damage to the home from the fire, there was hope it could be salvaged and restored to its previous splendour.
Not more than five months later, Delmark applied to demolish the home. Despite being secured against collapse, Collings House deteriorated beyond saving and became an eyesore in the neighbourhood. After ongoing negotiations between the town and Delmark, approval for demolition was given in 2020.
While he supported the recommendation, Mayor James Leduc offered a strong rebuke to the property owners.
“I will suggest to the developer that they respect the process in the future,” he said. “Work with staff professionally, work with staff professionally, make sure that we keep it on a very professional level because we’re here to work with our residents and our builders and to do the right thing.”
A 30-day period will commence for council to receive any formal objections to removing the property’s designation, and the town’s Heritage Committee will be consulted regarding the matter. Once council has issued the Notice of Application to repeal the designation, a decision must be made within 120 days. A further 30-day appeal process will take place before the designation is officially removed.
With files from Village Media.
