SkyscraperPage Forum - Sandyford Place

Interesting urbanicity story about the effort to preserve Sandyford Place.

I knew it had been saved from demolition, but was not aware of the details of the battle.

Sandyford Place | Saved and Restored
Oct 30, 2014
By Dr. Diane Dent

Many regard Sandyford Place as the foremost surviving stone terrace in Canada. Today, it stands majestic and fully functional at the corner of Duke Street and MacNab Street South in Hamilton’s historic Durand neighbourhood. It’s become a risen phoenix that’s ours to appreciate.

Yet the building’s story – which spans more than 150 years and includes episodes of splendor and neglect – reminds us of the need for collective action to realize effective heritage conservation and community renewal. It’s what saved Sandyford Place from the wrecking ball and it remains our best tool to conserve what’s left of Hamilton’s heritage.

Built by Freemasons in the late 1850s using local limestone, Sandyford Place is an example of terrace row housing. It features four attached dwellings, each with a separate entrance and stairway. This type of urban townhouse is common in Scotland yet rare in Canada aside from the Maritime Provinces.

Through to the mid-20th century, Sandyford Place, like many other residential properties in the Durand neighbourhood, was home to affluent merchants and professionals. This changed in the years following World War II – an era of aggressive urban renewal that saw wide swaths of our city’s core leveled to make room for concrete towers, parking lots and shopping malls.

In the early 1970s, the Canadian government compiled a list of pre-1880 buildings in Hamilton. At the rate they were being demolished at the time, eighty percent would be gone within a decade. Demolition permits could be issued instantly and their records were inaccessible to the public. The Durand neighbourhood looked like a war zone. The magnificent Birks Building on the Gore was gone.

Dr. Grant Head, founder of Heritage Hamilton, started thinking about establishing a corporation with both business and social goals. Important pieces of heritage architecture could be purchased, rehabilitated with attention to heritage elements, then rented or resold. Monies realized on one building could be rolled to another. The corporation could compete with the high rise developers in buying the houses because they were selling at land value only. It was determined that this concept could work in Hamilton and be sustainable.

In August 1973, Fincup Ltd. and LaJolla Holdings Ltd. – then owners of Sandyford Place – announced plans to demolish the buildings in order to construct high rise apartments. This triggered a campaign, led by Dr. Head, his wife Brenda and other members of Heritage Hamilton Inc., to purchase and save Sandyford Place. It raised more than $90,000, largely from Heritage Hamilton shareholders, and resulted in a formal offer to purchase. The owner rejected the offer. Evidently, it would take larger sums of money combined with delicate political manoeuvring to finally seal the deal.

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Sandyford Place at a Glance

Terrace row housing built by Donald Nicholson, 1858-1860
Four main dwellings, three storeys
Product of Scottish stonemasons who settled in Hamilton
Finely cut stone façade with ashlar finishes
Windows reflect aesthetics of Renaissance Revival
Interiors retain many period elements
Close interaction with street
Privately owned
Most comparable buildings in Hamilton have been demolished
Heritage designation by provincial and federal governments

Lesson Learned in Heritage Conservation

Leverage neighbourhood associations to engage the wider community
Create political change through collective action and civic engagement
Involve all levels of government (politicians and bureaucrats)
Team up with other municipalities to build a stronger voice
Promote the positive economics of heritage conservation and adaptive reuse
Strengthen ties between heritage conservation and local tourism

Read the full article here