Some readers may remember the infamous Cat House on Windermere in Walkerville, that we visited back in September, 2007.
The old house was demolished after it was left abandoned by the owners at the time, and full of cats. The site remained a vacant lot for the better part of a year, before some work started on the site.
This is the turd that’s been thrown up in Old Walkerville. A child with crayons could do a better job of urban planning than the people in charge at city hall. The neighbours were told that the house would “blend in to the neighbourhood”…
… uhh, yeah… You can’t even tell that house is new, it looks just like the rest of the street…
Certain areas of the city (like old Walkerville) need to be held to a certain level of design for new construction. If infill is built in old and historic neighbourhood, then you should have to build a house that looks like the rest of the street.
Other cities do it, why are we always having to settle for a silver medal in this city? Its the little things that make our cities and neighbourhoods appealing. If the owners of the replacement for the Cat House wanted a LaSalle style house, they should have built one out there…
The scale and massing of the whole end of the block is thrown off by this place, not to mention that the “porch” is idiotic looking. Building this house to look more like the rest of the ones on the street would not have been difficult or more expensive. I think it’s just a lack of anyone caring in the planning & building departments. Rubber stamp on the plans, and we’re good to go…
Crescent Lanes first opened on Ottawa Street in 1944 at 1055 Ottawa Street, opposite Lanspeary…
Above is a photo of the home of Mr & Mrs Oswald Janisse, located at…
in 1917 two Greek brothers Gus & Harry Lukos purchased a one story building on…
Photo from Google Streetview A long time reader sent me an email the other week…
An unremarkable end to a part of Windsor's history. The large vacant house at 841…
One for the lost Windsor files, is this house that once belonged to Joseph Reaume…
View Comments
I agree that this style of house should not have been built there. Unfortunately, these types of houses are cookie-cutter type houses and are fairly easy to build since many of the houses over the past 10 years have been of this style. It's almost a production type of house that requires little or no customization so therefore easy to park on that lot. Still, if the owners wanted to build there, they should have been a bit more creative and built something 'period correct' for the area. What a punch in the face for the street and neighbourhood.
One bright spot though- at least it isn't caked in stucco :)
It's not a bad house but it's definitely not suited to the area. I think it's ridiculous that the neighbours were told that it would blend in with the neighbourhood...they should have just said, go find a house that was built in the last few years by us in any neighbourhood and that's what you are getting. Definitely a Lasalle house. They did this in my neighbourhood too but it's out of place because it's probably the best house on the street now; why you would purposely build in my neighbourhood is beyond me!
Wow. In it's defense, though, at least it doesn't have a garage in front. Many Toronto "new" infill homes like this (often "monster homes" out of scale -- this is kind of like a reverse-monster) put a sunken driveway where there wasn't one before. In a few years some trees will help obscure this thing.
Shawn I feel like uprooting a few mature trees and politely "obscuring" this home from the rest of the street. Perhaps the trees would create a tad more shelter than that sliver of a porch.
Once again nothing is ever good enough in this modern world. Here we are complaining again about new construction. What would you rather have, another vacent lot? Just be glad someone built something there in these hard times. As for making it like the other houses on the street....those house designs are out-dated adn atiquated. Take into consideration that this is the design the home-owner wanted and we must live with that choice. Given the declining state of our downtown neighbourhoods, we should welcome this new home.
Enjoy it and stop complaining about everything.
I disagree Not You. No one is complaining about new construction, but there needs to be standards held in certain areas of this city. If you want to build in old Walkerville, you be held to a higher standard. If you want one of these build it in the cookie cutter land out at Walker and the 401.
A little bit of consideration for the context of the surrounding homes goes a long way.
Personally, yes, I would have preferred it to remain a vacant lot. So would a few of the people who live next to it.
Not You, Walkerville isn't downtown and when it was built the economy wasn't in the dumpster. As for the owners, if they wanted that type of design then why are they building it in Walkerville where there are no designs that are similar.
In downtown, that wouldn't be a bad thing but in the context of the streetscape above it is not appropriate.
Even Coun. Postma is rebuilding her rooming house instead of building a design such as the one above.
Besides, I believe it could be because of buliding by-laws as I posted previously.
Again, we are not knocking investment we are just holding it uip to a higher standard. Why should any of us "settle" for anything less when it comes to our neighbourhoods? Because that mentality has killed Windsor's history, streetscape and pride.
Wow, thats a strong opinion-
Maybe you should of bought the lot and done what you wanted with it?
I grew up in South Walkerville and even bought my first house in that area. I've since bought one of 'those types' of houses above- cookie cutter raised ranch production house- and I'm happy with it. The main thing is that it belongs where it is and not in an older, more historic neighbourhood such as the one above. I appreciate history, older architecture and the old neighbourhoods even though I live out in the 'burbs. The only reason I decided to go to a new house was because the first house I owned (before it) was a constant work in progress. By the time I sold it, I basically gutted 3/4 of the interior to update and I just got sick of doing all of that work. Still, while I commend the owner for choosing to build on the same lot, they should have built something a little more in tune with the neighbourhood.
Just a bit of a diversion as I predicted the house directly south of the Royal Tavern was distroyed on friday.This house cauld have been moved to this place and looked better than the crap they put up.Why isn't it feasible to move houses any more ??? To many overhead wires it's just a shame that nice old houses are bulldozed, nothing saved for more parking but the tax returns on these Mega-drug Stores must be lucrative to the city. My opinion is the city should say the house must be moved if a parking lot is going to take it's place !!!