Historic downtown house ready to move aside while condo built
John T. Ross home will stay on Oliver site
One of Edmonton’s oldest homes is being nudged over a few metres to make way for a big neighbour.
The 105-year-old historic red-brick house, known as the John T. Ross Residence, has been placed on steel beams by a specialized team of movers. It will be moved off its foundation temporarily to make room for a new highrise condo development going up in the Oliver neighbourhood near the Alberta legislature.
The Ross house is scheduled to be moved at the end of the month to make way for an underground parkade for the 29-storey residential complex.
Jason McConnell, co-owner of McConnell Building Movers, which was contracted to take care of the heavy work, said the house is expected to be set on the edge of the property at 9749 111th St., sticking out slightly onto the street, until the condo is finished. It will be moved to a new foundation built on top of the parking garage about 16 months from now, he said.
The construction of the condo complex, which is being managed by Vancouver-based Edgar Development Corp., was approved by city council on March 24 and includes plans for public art contributions, a small park and family housing.
Company president Peter Edgar said the plan is to preserve the Ross house and bring it back to its original state on the site.
“It’s a beautiful old house that adds to the character of the neighbourhood,” said Edgar, noting he is an Edmontonian.
Once the condo construction is completed, he said the house would be placed on the corner of the site, “very near to where it currently sits,” and restored with its original materials.
Jarrett Campbell, president of the Oliver Community League, said residents have a “particular attachment” to older homes and it was important to them that the Ross house was protected.
“I think it’s fantastic that they’ll be preserving it,” Campbell said.
Relocating the house is unlike typical moving jobs, said McConnell, and workers have wedged an “extraordinary amount of steel” under the building to ensure it isn’t damaged during the move.
“Everything has to be exactly level, nothing can settle (with a brick house),” he said. “Wood structures are a lot more forgiving.”
The move will cost the developers about $180,000, McConnell said, because of the home’s weight — 101 tonnes — and the fragility of the brick structure. A modern wood house of comparable size would weigh about 31 tonnes.
In 2007, the house was designated a municipal historic resource by the City of Edmonton, protecting it from demolition or being altered in any significant way. The house, described by heritage planners as “an eclectic mix” of styles, has elements of early 20th-century prairie style, with a low pitched roof and wide overhanging eaves that contribute to its historic value.
John T. Ross was an Edmonton school principal who moved to the city in 1901 from Ontario and worked as deputy education minister for the Alberta government from 1917 to 1934.
City heritage planner Scott Ashe said the decision to move the house had to do with spatial considerations.
“It allows us to have a bit more space around the Ross house so it’s not over whelmed by the development,” he said. A pocket park will be located behind the house.
The permit to move the house takes effect July 28.