Pre-Confederation log house, barn could be demolished in Kitchener
stood along Bleams Road, at Kitchener’s western edge, since before Confederation.
But the vacant log house — dating to 1858 — and barn at 2091 Bleams Rd. may be threatened by future development in the Rosenberg subdivision to the south.
A heritage impact assessment prepared by consultants MHBC for the property owner recommends demolition for the two structures, given their current condition.
“Degraded by vandalism” and often tagged with graffiti, the buildings were determined to be in poor structural shape.
The barn’s floor and wall boards are missing in several spots, and the roof is only supported by exterior cladding, the report said. The house, meanwhile, has rotting wood logs, several missing doors and windows, and gaps between the foundation and windows and doors.
The barn was deemed “an immediate hazard,” while the house is said to be in fair structural condition.
“The cost to repair and return both the barn and the dwelling to a usable condition would far exceed the value of the buildings,” the MHBC report said. “The structural engineer therefore recommends that both structures be removed.”
But that’s not sitting well with members of Heritage Kitchener, who offered input on the report at a committee meeting Tuesday as city heritage planning staff continue their review.
“We have a log house, very few left in the city. We have an old barn, very few left,” said committee chair Jean Haalboom.
“And it’s very disheartening to see that it can’t be used and that it’s fallen into decay as it has.”
Heritage planner Deeksha Choudhry said the log house is believed to be one of just five remaining in Kitchener. The barn is believed to date to the mid to late 1800s.
The property is neither designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, nor listed on the city’s heritage register as a property of cultural heritage value.
It is identified within the Rosenberg Community Secondary Plan as being a potential cultural heritage resource.
A city report notes that in 2010, “the site merited listing in the Municipal Heritage Register and designation under the Ontario Heritage Act with further assessment of the interior.”
But the following year, council chose not to list the property on the register “due to protest raised by the then-property owner.”
The attempt to list the property indicates “it definitely does have value,” heritage committee member Ilona Bodendorfer noted Tuesday.
Consultants said there’s no specific development proposal for the site at the moment, but the heritage assessment did consider, and ruled out, rehabilitating the buildings for future use or moving them.
Instead, the assessment suggests that logs and timber could be salvaged and reused as part of a landscaping or commemorative feature in a future development.
The assessment notes the property could also be affected by road work.
Current Bleams Road reconstrucIt’s tion plans set to begin this spring will widen the road from FischerHallman Road to Commonwealth Street to four lanes.
While the stretch from there west to Trussler Road, past the log house and barn, will remain two lanes, multi-use trails will be added on both sides of Bleams; the barn stands close to the road.
Heritage properties must meet at least two of nine criteria for designation. The assessment conducted by MHBC found it meets one, with the barn and house described as early and rare examples of their types.
City staff believe the property may also meet a second criteria, having historical or associative value with its connections to early agricultural practices and settlement in the area.
“So potentially designation is not … impossible for this site,” said committee member Peter Ciuciura.
“This house is structurally sound, it is one of the oldest buildings in Kitchener,” he later said.
“It can be restored, it can be moved, it is an ideal candidate for adaptive reuse in the new development, and nothing that we’ve been shown counters any of that potential.”