RAINBOW UPDATE

Derelict eyesore turned into art project makes way for tech-savvy wired home

Remember the Rainbow House?

It was near the corner of Bay Street North and Barton Street.

Picture a pretty bad looking shack in need of an intervention.

Artist Laura Hollick lived across the street and had an uplifting idea: cover it in plywood painted in rainbow colours while it waited for a better day.

She tracked down the owner and found a receptive soul. I wrote about it last April.

Builder Tony Brucculieri had bought the house in 2016. He knew it would be a mess when the sale carried this condition: “Must be cash offer. No conditions. Cannot view inside. Must be sold as is, where is.”

Brucculieri’s company, Stoney Brook Custom Homes, specializes in one-of-a-kind projects.

The forlorn house on Bay Street North, with the crumbling roof, broken windows and syringes strewn around, didn’t flummox Brucculieri. He would tear it down and build new.

But while he waited for the permits, the house sat disguised as a rainbow — thanks to Hollick.

Sometimes these promising stories don’t reach a happy ending. But this one did.

I knocked on the door of the new, two-storey house that sits where the rainbow was and met Sal Alfieri. He moved in two months ago and was happy to talk.

“I stumbled upon your story after I purchased the house during construction and thought it was pretty cool.”

Alfieri works for Rogers Communications in Toronto and had been living the condo life there for seven years. He was looking for something bigger.

“I grew up on the West Mountain; I still have a lot of friends here.”

He worked with Brucculieri to get everything just right and still can’t believe his good fortune to get a 1,400square-foot house with three bedrooms, a driveway, garage and a basement.

“Tony was great to work with; really we had more discussions about where to put the espresso machine than anything else.”

Being a tech geek, Alfieri made sure the house was wired for the future and then he created his own apps to go full-on automation.

“My doorbell has a camera with face recognition. When certain friends ring the bell, it triggers the espresso machine to start.”

Alfieri commutes to Toronto in an electric vehicle or uses West Harbour GO when the schedule works. He’s about as far away from the sad history of the rainbow house as you can get.

But reminders remain. “When friends Google my address, the Street View image is still the Rainbow House with two construction workers giving the thumbs up. Nobody ever forgets that.”

When friends Google my address, the Street View image is still the Rainbow House with two construction workers giving the thumbs up. Nobody ever forgets that.

KATHY RENWALD SPECIAL TO THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR Sal Alfieri moved into the new house that replaced the Rainbow House. The location, close to a GO station and James Street North, was a big plus. The 1,400-square-foot house has a fast charger for his electric car. “I really got everything I wanted.”

The Rainbow House, as it was called. Colourful plywood painted by Laura Hollick covered up the dilapidated building.

Sal Alfieri: “Tony (Brucculieri) was great to work with; really we had more discussions about where to put the espresso machine than anything else.”

GOOGLE MAPS On Google Street View, the Rainbow House lives on.