Decision on moving house delayed
KITCHENER — Moving a heritage home to make way for soccer fields at a new district park in South Kitchener could cost anywhere from $640,000 to almost $1 million.
That wide range in cost estimates caused city council to put off a decision on the fate of the 1861 stone cottage until it can get a better sense of what the move would cost.
The stone farmhouse is located where soccer fields are planned in the city’s new South District Park at Huron and Fischer-Hallman roads. Grading and other issues make it difficult to relocate the soccer fields, so if the house is to be saved, it must be moved.
A consultant’s study this spring confirmed that the stone cottage has heritage significance and recommended it be moved and refurbished to serve as a park washroom or concession stand elsewhere in the park.
But councillors are still wrestling with whether they want to spend the extra money to move the heritage house, instead of simply demolishing it and constructing a new washroom building.
A staff report made an attempt to put some numbers on the costs of a new washroom building versus the costs of moving the heritage building and fixing it up. But until a consultant carries out a detailed look at the logistics of moving the house, “there is a high degree of uncertainty associated with these costs (estimates),” said Denise McGoldrick, Kitchener’s director of operations for environmental services.
Demolishing the house and building a new washroom could cost anywhere from $575,000 to $690,000, while relocating the heritage home and using it could run from $640,000 to $928,000. Other options, such as moving the house in pieces, would cost even more.
That means saving the heritage home could add an extra $65,000 to $353,000 to the cost of the amenity. City staff say there is enough money in the budget to cover the cost.
“We could get a lot more in that park for an additional $350,000,” said Coun. Kelly Galloway-Sealock, who suggested council wait until it gets better estimates at year’s end.
The park is to be built in phases. The $10.3-million first phase of the park will include a splash pad and sports fields. If council chooses to save the house, it would be moved this spring and repurposed in the second phase, which is budgeted at $5.5 million and will also add trails, sports courts and washrooms. Phase 3 will add a bike track and skateboard park for $3.2 million, with an indoor pool and arenas coming later.