Heritage house one step closer to designation

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This article was published 22/03/2024 (664 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon City Council is one step closer to designating a 118-year-old house as a municipal historic site, which was home to Brandon’s longest serving mayor as well as a city councilor in the early 1900s.

If the designation becomes reality, it will be the City of Brandon’s first heritage designation in about a decade.

The two-storey Queen Anne-style house at 318 11th St. was built in 1906 and purchased for $6,000 by a man named John A. McDonald — not to be confused with Canada’s first prime minister. McDonald served as an alderman in Brandon from 1913-14.

In the early 1900s, McDonald sold the home to Harry Cater, a Brit who had moved to Brandon in 1882, the year the city was incorporated. Cater’s political career included two years as an alderman, from 1909-11. And in 1915, he was elected mayor for the first of three times: 1915-18, 1922-31 and again from 1934-37.

Cater, his wife and their five children lived in the home on 11th Street for almost 60 years.

During city council’s meeting on Monday evening, a bylaw drafted to grant the home historic status passed first reading.

The next steps will include a public hearing followed by second and third readings, which are required to pass the bylaw, said Coun. Shaun Cameron (Ward 4), who is co-chair of the municipal heritage advisory committee.

“It’s a fascinating, fascinating house,” Cameron said. “When we had the opportunity to tour it, you could tell how important it was to the homeowners. And it was just a great opportunity for us to kind of peek behind the curtain of some history of the community.”

Cameron described the interior as having a unique staircase and rooms, a fireplace, chimney and some light fixtures that date back to when the house was first built.

“There’s even a chapel on the second floor, with an arch behind. Some of the flooring is original, and some of the windows have stained glass,” Cameron said.

Last November, the homeowners applied to have their house designated as a municipal heritage site, said City of Brandon senior planner Andrew Mok.

A month later, the committee conducted a site visit, and last month, it recommended the designation to members of council.

There are benefits to having a property given historic status, said Mok.

“One of the key benefits for owners of municipal heritage properties is that they do qualify for the city’s municipal heritage incentive program.

“That is a property tax abatement program that reduces the municipal portion of property taxes to cover a portion of eligible costs associated with the conservation or preservation of a historic site,” Mok said.

Costs could include fixing the front and side veranda, which are untouched and part of the original house design, as well as roof repairs and any other structural issues.

Right now, there are 23 Brandon homes and businesses that have municipal heritage site designations and Mok said he is always open to seeing additional applications cross his desk.

It’s his department’s and the municipal heritage advisory committee’s intent, he added, to make the process as easy as possible if someone believes their property is historically significant.

“If the owners feel comfortable and even excited enough to seek designation, and understand the benefits of obtaining designation, then the process to get it goes much smoother,” said Mok.

“We try to encourage property owners to see those benefits and convince them to apply for it themselves. It’s much easier that way to move things forward,” he said.

If the 118-year-old home on 11th Street becomes a heritage site, said Cameron, it could be a double win for the city by potentially preserving other sites and helping property owners access funds for restoration and repairs.

“Hopefully, it will have a snowball effect that other people will come forward,” Cameron said. “Sometimes people fear that heritage designation because they fear that it’s going to be overly onerous or restrictive. And with this case, I’m hoping that it shows the opposite of that — how the heritage committee and the city want to work to preserve some of these sites.

“I know in the past, there’s been decisions that have gone the other way and we’ve lost some of that shared history. So, having the opportunity to make sure that we preserve what we can, I think is really impactful,” Cameron said.

Next up for bylaw No. 7384 to designate the 11th Street home as a municipal heritage site will be second reading, which is expected to be on council’s agenda on April 2.

If third reading passes, and there is no opposition during a public hearing, the bylaw is then sent to city administration to finalize the designation. That means official status could be approved early this summer.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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