Massive fire on Queen St.West!!!!

[phishtaper]

in these two situations, Ol'Hickster, there is actually no work being done. both are just disputes about what work would be permitted in the future - and my guess is that in each case it would be very small scale demolition, not restoration. on alice street, the owner just wants to tear down the little garage. on manitoba, my understanding is that there isnt actually any sort of construction plan now, the owner just resents the city declaring his property a heritage property.

as to who is doing the restoration work on the heritage wall being incorporated into the new city hall, i have no idea. i'll check out the trucks next time im downtown. its stunningly beautiful work. for city property, i agree with jaimoe, we should try to save things - although the cost of saving this wall has gone from around half a million dollars to close to two million now, so cost is a big factor in the decision. i just dont think its altogether fair however for the city to impose restrictions on the owners of these other two small private properties.

dont get me wrong here. im not into razing history. i used to live in one of the oldest houses in the city. it was the original blacksmith's house in guelph and dates back to the early 19th century. beside was the actual smithy and both are beatiful old structures made of large, local stone. we no longer live there. in my mind it would make much more sense for the heritage board to have tried to designate those two buildings because of their obvious historical importance, than to designate two other buildings whose importance is debatable and in one case, simply no longer exists. that said, i dont think i would have been terribly pleased if the city had come to me one day in our old house and said "hey, you cannot do this or that with your house."

[Booche]

Hey Jaimoe, it's your wife studying urban planning. Not you.