Oakville condo one step closer
October 31, 2009
Tracy Hanes
TORONTO STAR
The Town of Oakville has authorized minutes of settlement approving a luxury condominium development slated for a historic waterfront site.
Developer Marc Hewitt's plan to build 30 estate-type condo units in 10 buildings on the Edgemere Estate created considerable controversy in the town. Local residents feared that a condominium project will set a precedent by allowing more multi-residential sites in the exclusive area of single detached homes.
The developer will dedicate a 15-metre wide linear strip of waterfront park and connecting trails to the town, creating more than a half-kilometre of public walkway. Edgemere is the largest, original undivided estate in Oakville, with 1,000 feet of shoreline.
The development still needs to be approved by the Ontario Municipal Board, says the town clerk's office.
The 5.7 hectare site on Lakeshore Rd. is steeped in history: the century-old Edgemere Estate was purchase in 1907 by Toronto jeweller James Ryrie, partner to jeweller Henry Birk, who built a rustic-style country home. In 1909, renowned landscape architect Charles Ernest Woolverton designed the gardens, ponds and parks.
The original country house was demolished and currently, a 15-year-old, 32,000-square-foot Georgian mansion – the former private home of Mattamy Homes president Peter Gilgan – sits on the property and serves as the office and sales centre. It will be demolished to make way for the condo.
Hewitt intends to preserve the gardens and parkland on the site and will restore the remaining heritage buildings on the property which include a gardener's cottage, stable, tea house and boathouse.
The condos, designed by architect Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance, start at about $3 million and will range in size from 2,000 square feet to 5,400 square feet.
Read more about Edgemere Estate.
Toronto Star