Heritage committee endorses report regarding Gordon House repairs

Amherstburg Municipal Building.

The town’s heritage committee has endorsed repairs to the Gordon House.

The Gordon House, located at 266 Dalhousie St., dates back to 1798 but currently needs some repairs and maintenance. Items discussed at last Thursday evening’s heritage committee meeting included repairs to the metal fire escape, exterior decking on the first and second floor balconies be repaired or replaced along with the underlying water barrier, removal of nearby vegetation that is contributing to the deterioration of the Gordon House, the cleaning and repairing of lower level masonry walls and that similar materials be used for the replacement of columns, boards or decorative elements.

Heritage planner Adam Coates said a high priority item is the fire escape, and part of the fire escape is the access to get to it.

“All of that is coming together as one project,” he said.

Leaf and vegetation debris is gathering with trees and vegetation nearby becoming “overgrown” and limiting the view of the building from Navy Yard Park.

“(The) Parks (department) would like to remove some of the shrubbery and some of these trees to give light access to this area,” said Coates. “It’s quite wet a lot of times and it doesn’t get a lot of sun access. Then, there is a lot of vegetation debris and leaves.”

Committee member Stephanie Pouget-Papak noted how difficult it is to look after a historic building. She is a former curator of the Park House Museum.

Coates added there is a plan to do multiple repairs at the Gordon House, but life safety items such as the fire escape takes the highest priority. Other repairs could take place over the next few years.

Committee member Frank DiPasquale wanted to know if there were any issues with mold, with Coates stating a heritage architect has reviewed the building and did not uncover those types of issues.

“The Gordon House is in fairly good condition, it just needs some maintenance,” said Coates.

On a separate agenda item, the heritage committee went over the updated heritage section of the town’s website. Located at www.amherstburg.ca/heritage, the site highlights existing public heritage structures, the ability to see what homes are designated, information on the new Heritage Conservation District (HCD), heritage plaques, the town’s street naming policy, what is available to owners of heritage homes and more.

“This is absolutely fantastic,” Deputy Mayor Chris Gibb said of the website. “I’m floored by how wonderful it is.”

Heritage committee endorses report regarding Gordon House repairs

By Ron Giofu