The derelict David Secord House in St. Davids may be getting a second chance at life, courtesy of a plan put forth by developer Rainer Hummel that would cost more than $1 million.
However, to make it happen, he’s asking Niagara-on-the-Lake’s council to back the project so the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority will grant him an exception to one of its rules.
The developer behind Hummel Properties Inc. is looking to restore and make modifications to the 226-year-old home, also known as the Paxton House, which is in serious disrepair, inside and out.
Hummel presented to council during its last committee of the whole meeting, joined by heritage consultant and structural engineer Mark Schultz. They explained the scope of his plan and asked the town to advocate for the project to the conservation authority.
The house, located at 46 Paxton St. in St. Davids, sits on top of a slope next to a nearby ravine. The conservation authority has policies to prevent buildings from sliding into nearby ravines — in this case, it means the house can’t have a setback within 7.5 metres to the top of the slope.
However, Hummel says to rebuild the David Secord House according to his plans, the setback would need to be within that limit.
He argued the home’s heritage value outweighs the risk and said support from the town would strengthen the company’s case with the authority.
“If we, as the bad, bad, greedy development company go to the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and say, ‘We need relief from the top of bank,’ that’s going to be a lot more complicated than if the Town of NOTL does it,” he said.
“We can make sure that it doesn’t fall.”
The project would cost $1.2 million to $1.4 million to complete, Hummel told The Lake Report.
The rebuilt house would stay in the same footprint it has now, as the building would crumble if moved, he said.
He is, however, proposing some changes: adding three bedrooms and a garage.
These new additions, Hummel says, are so the heritage property can serve a “proper adaptive reuse” — in this case, as a house. He told The Lake Report the house will not be sold.
He also plans to rebuild the structure without its second floor to restore its original one-storey design, lower the roofline and reinstate the original chimneys.
He said the 7.5-metre setback line cuts through the existing house and would run through the additions to the property.
Jennifer McQuillan, marketing and communications specialist for the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, said this 7.5-metre setback rule does exist. However, it is negotiable depending on the circumstances.
“Specifically, our policies allow for the possibility of reducing this 7.5-metre setback within settlement areas, provided that a favourable geotechnical report supports the reduction,” she said.
For the David Secord House, she said, because it’s located within a settlement area, the village of St. Davids, “the setback can be reduced if the necessary geotechnical studies indicate that it is safe to do so.”
She added that for properties outside of a settlement area, the 7.5-metre setback is mandatory, with no reductions allowed.
The project needs to move “very, very quickly” to prevent irreparable damage to the house, Hummel told council on Sept. 16.
“We have made an arrangement with the owners of the property to purchase the Secord house on its own lot and with that restore the house,” he said.
The rebuild team has started cleanup on the site so it can plan its work. They plan to renovate the house in phases.
“Critically, the thing right now is to get a roof on it,” Hummel said, telling council they hope to have the new roof installed by Christmas.
The proposal received broad support from councillors, who focused their questions on the process and logistics.
Coun. Gary Burroughs thanked Hummel and Schultz, saying he was “thrilled that you’re taking it on.”
Coun. Erwin Wiens asked how construction vehicles would access the site via Paxton Lane. Hummel said they hadn’t finalized that plan but suggested a temporary driveway might be an option.
He emphasized the long-term vision for the project.
“This is a project to restore the house for 200 years, not 20,” Hummel said.
The NOTL Museum says the house was built in 1799. David Secord was a military officer, merchant and politician in Upper Canada who died in 1844.
