Dust swirled around a work site east of Wesley Boulevard in the city's southeast end Friday as earth movers and graders tamped down a makeshift road that will soon be used to transport a fragile, heavy load.
The work site, located at 1395 Main St., is in the centre of the city's newest subdivision, and will be comprised of 419 units built within 23 blocks featuring multiple-family residential units, mixed-terrace homes and townhouses.
But before that can happen, the developer is saving an 1860s farmhouse on the property and will relocate it before transforming it into a luxury family home.
The home will be moved to a corner lot at the intersection of Maple Bush Drive and Green Gate Boulevard, allowing “the building to continue to be used within the local community and within the vicinity of its original context.”
In March, the city's heritage advisory committee accepted a Heritage Impact Assessment and designation for the home, and council approved the move.
Last week, the city issued a foundation permit to allow the farmhouse to be relocated.
The one-and-a-half storey limestone structure, built in the Ontario Cottage style with a Gothic revival central peak, was the subject of a 2019 investigation by Martin Simmons Architects that concluded there are no structural flaws and “no substantive reasons why this structure cannot be located.”
Once it’s relocated, the developer plans to build an addition on it with a two-car garage.
A barn from the same era couldn't be saved and has been demolished.
