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SMALL TOWN ONTARIO
Slow growth formula helps preserve historic architecture
in town an hour east of Toronto
Jan 19, 2008
GARY MAY
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
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COBOURG - It was love at first sight for
retired developer Kevin Doble.
"Three hundred feet of lakefront, in a residential neighbourhood,
two blocks from downtown. A piece of property held in a time
capsule," is how he describes the spot he discovered an
hour's drive east of Toronto.
Doble drew up a subdivision plan that includes million-dollar-plus
condos in a heritage Second Empire style, west of downtown
Cobourg. Then he built a house for himself across the street.
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The thought of trying
to sell high-end condominiums in a small lakeside town so far
east of the GTA might seem daft to some, but it so excited
Doble that he came out of retirement for the West Colony Bay
project.
So far, one of four planned single-family homes has
been spoken for, he has takers for more than half the proposed
12 condos and he's finishing plans to incorporate six townhouses.
Construction on the Vincent Santamaura-designed project is
to begin in early March. |
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It's one of several upscale housing projects in this town
of 18,500, but it's the first to shatter the $1-million ceiling
and it might prompt you to wonder just what is going on beyond
the eastern Greenbelt, in an area that has so far avoided
the GTA's tentacles.
Call it the Cobourg Formula: Take what had, by the 1970s,
become a dying industrial waterfront. Add years of slow growth
that had spared much of the community's 19th-century architecture.
Bring in a developer who dreamed of condos where piles of
coal and oil tanks stood. Then insert one town council with
a sense of the possibilities. |
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Victoria Hall stands as a symbol of the confidence 1850s-era
community leaders had in Cobourg. Four Corinthian pillars
tower above the portico. The big, double doors of the Palladian-style
building open from King St. into a cavernous foyer. Off the
foyer are the municipal offices and an Old Bailey-style courthouse.
Upstairs are a council chamber, concert hall and art gallery.
The Prince of Wales opened the building in 1860. It stands
today as testament to the town fathers' certitude that Cobourg
would become an important centre - perhaps even the provincial
capital. (At left with Mayor Peter Delanty).
It would be sacrilege to speak of demolishing the
magnificent structure today, but four decades ago such a
fate was a distinct possibility until irate citizens banded
together to save it. Their victory set the stage for what
is happening today.
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Prosperity had come early to Cobourg. In the 19th century,
the town was the northern point of a water-based commercial
triangle that included Oswego and Rochester New York. Minerals
and lumber were brought to the harbour by rail from Ontario's
interior, while Pennsylvania coal arrived by ship.
Wealthy Americans sailed Lake Ontario from the Port of
Rochester and built opulent mansions as summer homes. Belden's
1878 Illustrated Historical Atlas of Durham and Northumberland
counties said: "Of late, Cobourg has begun to come somewhat
into vogue as a summer resort for tourists and pleasure-seekers
generally. The reason for this, apart from the pleasant situation
of the town and the delightful drives in its neighbourhood,
is to be found in the excellence of its hotel accommodations."
Ships continued to bring tourists and coal to Cobourg's
port well into the 20th century, but the town's industrial
character began to wane through the 1960s.
When Victoria Hall was declared structurally unsafe in
1970, Cobourg stood at a crossroads. The first thought was
to tear it down and build a modern town hall. The preservationists
prevailed and their influence grew.
In the late 1980s, the town bought the harbour from the
federal government and converted it for pleasure craft. Developer
James Hoffman bought some of the old industrial land, cleaned
it up and started building modest lakefront condos.
The first condos went up, even as the tank farms were being
hauled onto barges and shipped to Hamilton.
Conscious of the quality of its architecture, Cobourg began
to designate heritage districts, encourage preservation and
market its waterfront.
In the early 2000s, Mutual Gain of
Toronto proposed 250 condominiums in three low-rise buildings
around the harbour. The third phase will be finished by March.
Others followed, including the Georgian-style freehold townhouse
condo project by Cobourg Marina Properties, Esplanade on
the Wharf, where units sold for up to $750,000 each.
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At left - Harbourwalk on Cobourg's Harbour.
Click any photo for a larger version.
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A few blocks from the lake, Phoenix Genesis is converting
an old school into high-ceilinged residences featuring exposed
brick walls at its Mansions on George project.
Phoenix Genesis principal Laurel Clarry says the company
also plans a new-build condo project, a block off the main
street, to complement a heritage building next door.
And Doble says West Colony Bay will include renovation
of the historic Illahee Lodge, which he plans to offer for
about $1.5 million, as well as $500,000 to $800,000 townhouses
and condos for up to $1.2 million. He says sales so far have
been from the immediate Cobourg area, but in the new year
he plans to market in Toronto.
In recent years, the town had
introduced tax incentives to preserve its main street. Business
owners fixed up storefronts. A new-build retail/commercial
development was constructed in a style that blended in with
the heritage structures that were its neighbours. And developers
refurbished old structures, including an abandoned hotel,
to make way for new retail space, apartments and condos.
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All of a sudden, downtown was trendy. Upscale restaurants,
coffee houses, bars and shops opened to cater to the
tourists and the over-50 crowd who were moving into
town.
Recently, Whitby dinner theatre entrepreneur Rocky
Varcoe mortgaged his home and spent $1.2 million to
buy and renovate the old Park movie theatre for live
performances.
Cobourg Mayor Peter Delanty is the third generation
of his family to serve on council. Of the million-dollar
West Colony Bay project Delanty says: "We're all
startled by that." But he says it's the latest
in a string of projects that came about because 20
years ago a developer and a town council had the foresight
to look beyond the contaminated industrial wasteland
along the waterfront and imagine what could be.
Delanty
says long-time residents sometimes complain the town
is growing too fast, but he points out that the long-term
plan is for growth of only about 200 to 300 residents
a year, and that's what's happening. What's changing
is the housing stock and population makeup, he says.
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Retail and Residential in
restored building on King street (downtown)
Click any photo for a larger version. |
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Real estate agent Nathan Copeland says three-quarters of
his new clients are from out of town, mostly the GTA, and
most are aged 50-plus. They tell him they're drawn by the
small-town atmosphere, the beach and adjacent Victoria Park,
marina and new hospital, as well as lower real estate prices
(new three-bedroom, two-bath bungalows and two-bed condos
start at $189,000).
Ene Milner has other attributes to add to the list. Milner,
who in 2007 was president of the Cobourg-Port Hope District
Real Estate Board, cites the strong downtown retail district
and cultural and recreational opportunities: theatres, choral
groups, orchestra and the waterfront trail.
Milner agrees it's the 50-plus market that's hottest and
adds that many are choosing the town because of its proximity,
and ease of highway and VIA Rail links, to Toronto, Ottawa
and Montreal.
"Council is very careful in doing controlled growth," she
says. "They don't want to see another Whitby."
So Cobourg's modest growth is being fuelled by older, more
affluent newcomers. It isn't about to become a town of commuters
to Toronto, as long as the GO train stops in Oshawa (with
bus connections as far as Newcastle), although for some,
the daily VIA service to the city is good enough: Delanty
estimates from 200 to 250 people from the town and area take
the train to and from Toronto each weekday.
When Mutual Gain's groundbreaking Harbour Walk was announced,
local newspapers were full of letters from those objecting
to the private development going on key waterfront property.
The project became a lightning rod for complaints about the
town's perceived loss of character, public access and view
of the harbour.
Betty Adams moved to Cobourg from Scarborough 13 years ago
and says: "I've been disappointed with what they've
done to the waterfront. It's a maze."
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Delanty points out, though, that the town has kept
the waterfront accessible through public trails and
a boardwalk. And the town has stuck to its guns to
preserve its heritage, he adds.
Ben Burd is a former councillor who believes the
town caved in to developers who wanted to limit commercial
space on the waterfront. As a result, it is becoming
a private enclave that will likely generate residents'
complaints about noise and use of adjacent parkland,
he fears. |
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| Cobourg
in about 1919 - Photo
Cobourg Library |
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As for the waterfront, those with long memories say the
new look is better than what had been there in recent decades.
Teresa Bowen lived in Cobourg when the harbour was industrial.
She moved away and returned four years ago.
"What's there now is better than the coal piles," she
says bluntly. |
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