'Very challenging but never overwhelming': Islanders win heritage awards for restoration

Charlottetown and Summerside handed out heritage awards this week, along with the province, as part of Heritage Week 2017.

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Among them were individuals who've poured their heard-earned money into lovingly restoring heritage buildings.

Corner of Water and Queen St.

Firouz Aghdasi and his wife Massie started renovations of their historic brick building on the corner of Water and Queen Streets in Charlottetown three years ago. They were among the award recipients in Charlottetown.

"I was so happy because I've been doing that job a long time," Firouz said of the award for the restoration of the 180-year-old building.

The Aghdasis bought the building about 15 years ago, he said, operating Linda's Coffee Shop & Restaurant on the ground floor. 

The couple has since retired and lease the restaurant to other operators, but wanted to develop rental units on the top two floors, which were mostly unused.

"I feel good and I feel I have done something," Aghdasi said of the results. He had originally estimated the cost of the renovation at about $450,000 but ended up spending more than $600,000, he said.

"If I didn't spend it there, where else would I spend it? Leave it in the bank?" he laughed. 

Holman House, Summerside

Ken and Jenny Meister purchased Holman Homestead in January 2016, saving the 1850s building at the last minute from the wrecking crew. 

The Meisters planned to restore it quickly and open in the summer with ice cream parlour, museum and tourist rental suites. And just seven months later, the couple did just that.

Friday, the City of Summerside gave them a heritage award. 

Jenny and I find it frustrating that there are so many beautiful old homes being neglected.— Ken Meister

"Historic significance aside, the Holman homestead property is a beautiful, lovely building," Meister said, noting the couple admired the property since moving to Summerside.

"It was very challenging but never overwhelming," Ken shared via email. "The greatest challenge was restoring the property while at the same time bringing it up to code," saying they faced multiple challenges with the building code.

They credit some of the project's success to their "great architect," Wil Lawrence. If you're going to use a property for anything other than for personal residential, hire an architect to determine required changes, Meister advised.

"While this is an expensive process, it saves a lot in the long run and makes the rest of the project go a lot smoother," he said.

"We are in a society that puts little value on old things. Jenny and I find it frustrating that there are so many beautiful old homes being neglected and so many new modern homes being built," he said.

"There is such great character with the older homes. Yes, it would be easier to rebuild from scratch but in the process you lose so much of the character."

'Don't be afraid'

The list of fixes was daunting: the Meisters replaced every single inside wall with fire-resistant drywall, installed a geothermal heating system, upgraded the electrical service, and even remapped the floor layout, which involved engineering new floor and wall supports. They were able to keep the home's original wood floors, with repairs. 

Meister's advice to others?

"Don't be afraid. There is so much support in the online and within the community that can help," he said.

The couple did much of the labour themselves, which they said saved a lot of money. The renovations came under $200,000, but the Meisters said if they'd contracted the entire project, it would have cost more than $600,000.  

Houle House, Charlottetown

Angus Orford and Karen Rose also won an award from the City of Charlottetown for their restoration of Houle House on Prince Street in Charlottetown, built in 1879. 

The couple purchased the stately brick building in 2003, attracted by its "unique Victorian architecture," Orford said.

It was designed by famed P.E.I. architect William Critchlow Harris along with David Stirling in what's called Second Empire style, for Harry Houle, who was Track Master with the P.E.I. Railway.

"It required a long-term plan for restoration and energy efficiency improvement," Orford said. The work took three years and involved brick and stone cleaning and repointing, rebuilding eaves and replacing windows.

Orford's advice? "Make a long-term plan," he said, adding, "this is a project that has provided much intrinsic satisfaction in seeing the end results."

Orford said he is "happy to see the city place this focus on heritage properties."

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