Renovations turn Thornhill heritage property into couple’s dream home

Greg and Bozana Ilic fell in love at first sight with a property that contains a main house and a cottage.

Thestar.com
March 26, 2016
By Ian Harvey

When Grujica “Greg” Ilic and his wife Bozana decided to sell his mid-Toronto home and move, he hadn’t thought about buying a new home outside the city - until he and Bozana fell in love with a heritage property in Thornhill.

“I was just on the Internet. I’d been looking and somehow this one came up and I thought, ‘My God, how is it possible to have this property for this price ($650,000)?’ ” Ilic says, and laughs at his first reaction to the 122-year-old property that includes two homes. “I called my agent and said, ‘I want to see it now!’ ”

Owning and restoring a heritage property, however, is not a matter for the faint of heart or light of wallet. It’s neither a weekend project nor as simple as hiring a couple of local contractors and sketching out plans.

A historical designation, under the 1975 Ontario Heritage Act, means red tape and regulations about what can be changed and what can’t be touched and, as with any century home, there are issues of structure soundness.

Still, the Ilics’ five-year journey started as love at first sight and Greg regrets nothing in having found and created his dream home, which won a 2014 Heritage Preservation Award.

During the drive to go have a first look at the home, along with its charming 1,100-sq.-ft. cottage, at 25 Elizabeth St., a buyer snapped up the property. Undeterred, Ilic insisted on seeing it and left word that if the deal fell through, he and Bozana would be back.

The 2,800-sq.-ft. main house, in early Edwardian architecture with a brick façade, had originally been built as a farmhouse around 1904, on a lot along Yonge St. It got moved to its present location on a leafy side street near the heart of Thornhill Village at Yonge and Centre Sts. in Vaughan in 1926, to make way for a gas station.

“This area was mostly cottages back then, it’s where people from Toronto came to get away from the city in the summer,” Ilic says. “Today, you couldn’t build two structures on the one lot so (the property) was unique.”

Heritage homes need a special buyer, one who is prepared to undertake the expensive and sometimes regulatory-driven process. Ilic had been well-prepared and positioned: He had just sold his civil engineering business, specializing in laying out subdivisions, and understood the issues around structure and buildings.

The main house wasn’t a spectacular example of the era, nor did it come with the provenance of a famous past owner or even the pedigree of a storied architect.

“It was just a nice house with good bones and it was in need of love and care,” says Ilic. “The inside was a disaster. There was an addition in the 1970s but the floors didn’t match up. It needed a lot of work.”

While attending a committee of adjustment meeting, Ilic bumped into Toronto architect Phillip H. Carter, who specializes in heritage buildings. He had a hand in defining and codifying the Thornhill Heritage Conservation District Plan, as well as those in Markham and Vaughan.

Carter had a look at the Ilics’ property.

“It is what you might call a kind of a four-square Edwardian, very simple, symmetrical,” says Carter. “He wanted to make it a nice home, and that little cottage was a treasure.”

The key in heritage preservation, says Carter, is to ensure the integrity. That doesn’t mean owners are stuck putting in leaky windows, however, just because they’re original to the year the house was built. Windows, for instance, must conform to the design styles of the time.

There are other restrictions on additions, fences, driveways, roof shapes, and landscaping.

“When we work with owners we want them to retain as much as possible of the original charm,” Carter says. “Usually, the restrictions affect what you can do on the exterior but sometimes there’s something special inside, like a staircase, which will be included in the designation, but usually it is just the outside.”

Carter agreed to take on the project, and the Ilics moved into the coach house during the renovations.

“My kids thought we were crazy, living in this rundown cottage, but Bozana and I spent a few weeks painting and cleaning and putting on new doors and windows and new furniture,” says Ilic. “Then they all wanted to move in when the main house renovation was finished because it was so nice.”

Ilic’s choice of contractor wasn’t surprising: his brother Radomir Ilic, someone he naturally trusted implicitly, and his company Petrus Construction.

Starting in 2011, workers tore down the main house’s addition and built a new one to better align with the existing floor. They replaced windows with design-appropriate — and more energy efficient — versions, added insulation to the home, and installed new electrical and plumbing systems.

“We sank the basement down and underpinned it, which cost $60,000 alone,” says Ilic. “There are 10-foot ceilings on the first floor and nine feet on the second floor, so it’s a very nice space.”

Foundations on the cottage-cum-guest house have also been repaired. Workers also modernized its interior while retaining its century charm outside. “My daughter is going to move back in there for awhile,” Ilic says.

He and his wife have no plans to sell the property. “We built this as our dream home. We want to live here. It’s a wonderful thing to have.”

*

Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua chats about the heritage designation process

Heritage homes provide neighbourhoods with character and curb appeal, and legislation intends to keep it that way.

Local municipalities in the province have the power to preserve their heritage buildings and to refuse to issue a demolition permit, thanks to the Ontario Heritage Act enacted in 1975.

Local governments can also designate individual buildings or entire areas as having unique cultural attributes and character.

The Act allows for different levels of designation. In the case of 25 Elizabeth St., it had been designated Part V, as part of the Thornhill Heritage Conservation District, and also as a registered property under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.

We asked Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua about the designation process.

Q. The cost of a heritage structure is not the only thing which makes them difficult to invest in. How are you working to meet those challenges? Obviously the city or the province can’t go around paying for these renos but we can’t expect people to invest and restore if they don’t get something out of it.

A. Constructing and renovating within a Heritage Conservation District does require more creativity and effort but the intent of the policies is to anticipate and encourage change yet guide it in a way that is sympathetic to the individual property and overall character of the district. Most often, the interiors of buildings are not governed by any historical protection, but rather the focus is on the exterior of the building and its relationship to the streetscape and district.

Q. How do you find the balance between preserving history and practicality?

A. Heritage Conservation Districts are not meant to be museums. They are designed to incorporate change and adapt throughout the years. The Thornhill Vaughan Heritage Conservation District Plan itself notes: “It is not the purpose of heritage conservation district designation to make the district a static place where change is prohibited. Rather, the purpose is to guide change so that it contributes to the district’s architectural and historic character.”

Q. There’s a fair amount of risk in that old buildings often have structural issues. Then there’s the issue of modern amenities. What should people know if they’re considering a heritage home?

A. The fact these homes have been standing for more than 100 or 150 years proves they have strong bones, but there is a need to repair and renovate these homes. Continual minor preventative maintenance, such as painting and cleaning, will prevent the need for more invasive maintenance later on. Furthermore, homeowners who appreciate a historical home still desire the modern-day luxuries of a dishwasher, central air, and stone countertops.

Q. Still, many would-be buyers fear getting snagged in red tape. How do you assure them it’s a workable process?

A. Cultural Heritage staff understand renovating a heritage home may be an intimidating endeavour so they’re available to answer questions by email, on the phone, and in person. Staff often advise applicants “at the end of the day, we want to work with you so that we can recommend approval for your proposal.”

Our four heritage conservation districts, Maple, Thornhill, Kleinburg and Woodbridge, are desirable places to live with a unique history and character. For residents who are willing to put in the extra time to maintain one of these homes, it’s certainly worth the effort.