Drive by 55 Zina, just west of the court house, and have a look at this beautiful home that was built 125 years ago.

Last night Orangeville council issued a demolition permit for its destruction.

It was built just after Canada became a country, and before the invention of the automobile, airplane of even the telephone, and now having enjoyed 125 years of nobility, Orangeville council in their wisdom, or lack thereof, have decided, it is to be no more.

I read in the paper two weeks ago about the house being in the way of the court house expansion and I immediately tried to find a solution to prevent it from being destroyed.

I have spent over 50 hours since then putting a proposal together to save the house.

I did all of my research into costs and talked with six house moving companies all who had experience moving heritage houses. I have had experience in moving buildings and the principle of moving is the same for any structure.

I met three of the moving companies on the site and we went through the house. They all said they could easily move the house and not even crack a brick.

I even went as far as putting a conditional purchase offer on a property to move the house to, but Credit Valley Conservation approval would be required for that property, and I would not be able to obtain that approval before the required moving date for the house.

Because the demolition is scheduled in mid June, I needed to make a presentation to Orangeville council asap, and I did not have time to get interested citizens of Orangeville involved to support my efforts to save the house.

Proposal to council

I made my proposal last night to council and I might as well have talked to a wall as not a single councilor supported saving the house.

In preparing my moving proposal, I met with the County of Dufferin several times.

Dufferin council approved my proposal which included giving the house to the town of orangeville for free, and I would then contract with Orangeville to move the house for them

The town owns 27 First Street, immediately behind the town hall, and where Orangeville plans to install a parking lot.

Many local residents opposed this parking lot plan.

How would you as a homeowner feel, if you bought a home on a residential street and the town decided to put in a parking lot next door?

27 First Street is a huge lot and moving the heritage house to the front part of it, facing on to First st, would still leave 3/4 of that lot available for parking at the back, if the town decided to still pursue their parking lot plan.

The cost to move the house and set it on a new foundation at 27 First Street, and all other associated requirements for the move, is $219,000 and that money could easily be borrowed by the town if they do not have it.

Any landscaping, interior renovations, etc that the town decided on could be completed by the town at their leisure once the house was moved, and I am sure local business people would chip in as they did for the Broadway landscaped blvd.

That borrowed money is not an expense to the town since the house would belong to Orangeville and would have an asset value of over $400,000 once moved to it’s new location

Uses of the heritage house

There are many uses for the house. At it’s new location.

The town would now have an additional 3,000 sq feet of office space available to them if this is the use that they wanted to make of it.

Maybe, move the building dept into the house and get them out of their present cramped basement purgatory.

Better still, let’s have a contest involving all of the Orangeville school children as to the best use of this beautiful house at it’s new location.

The bottom line is there are many viable uses for the house and it should not under any circumstances be destroyed unnecessarily.

As a last resort, the town could rent the house out and easily get enough income to cover the cost of interest on the loan, thereby not costing the town one cent.

What can you do

Do you want to save the house or see it destroyed?

Orangeville lost one of the most beautiful buildings in town when the post office on Broadway was demolished to put up that disgrace that is it’s present replacement.

Let’s not let that happen again.

Call the mayor, call your councilor, call everyone you can think of and tell them you are against destroying a 125 year old Orangeville heritage home.

We only have a week left to save it and it there is enough citizens support, council at their June 7 meeting could approve the proposal and the house could be moved before the July 7 dufferin county requirement for it being off the site.

Preparing the house for moving would need to start immediately and in 3 weeks it would be ready to move to its new home, an maybe last there for another 125 years.

If not, let’s find out the day of it’s scheduled demolition and all of us can go and watch it being destroyed..

That memory will be fresh in our minds when all of these present Orangeville councillors who did nothing to save it, run for re-election this fall

Gary Grant Orangeville