insulationking's video: Edgemere Estate

Less than two years ago, at $45 million, it was the most expensive residential property ever to be listed for sale in Canada. The Edgemere Estate, set on 5.7 hectares of prime Lake Ontario waterfront along Oakville's "gold coast" -- Lakeshore Rd. -- included a massive Georgian-style mansion, boathouse, four-car garage, pool, private pebble beach, its own baseball diamond and 300 metres of shoreline. Now the 15-year-old, 32,000-square-foot main house, with its sweeping foyer, 17 bathrooms, 20-seat-theatre and spa -- the former private home of Mattamy Homes president Peter Gilgan -- will be demolished to make way for 30 über-luxurious condominiums, priced from $2.7 million to $6.9 million and ranging in size from about 2,700 to 5,500 square feet. Several heritage artifacts on the property, including a gardener's cottage, stable, teahouse, greenhouse and boathouse will be restored and preserved. Developer Marc Hewitt, who lives in the neighbourhood, didn't want to see the estate with its tranquil park-like setting and beautiful gardens carved up into detached home lots, especially as it seemed no one wanted to buy Edgemere as a single-family home. "The stimulus for me was that there was a real threat from the local development community," says Hewitt of Niche Development, which bought the property for a reported $35.5 million. Hewitt formerly was head of development for CityPlace in Toronto and for Emaar Properties in Dubai. Currently, he is also developing a 4,047-hectare environmental cottage community in the Bahamas. Edgemere was purchased in 1907 by Toronto jeweller James Ryrie, partner to Henry Birk, who built a rustic-style country home. In 1909, he commissioned renowned landscape architect Charles Ernest Woolverton to design its gardens, ponds and parks -- many of which remain intact today. There are several hundred mature trees on the estate, with plans to add more. Since then, Edgemere has also been owned by a mining executive and a stockbroker until Gilgan bought it, tore down the original Arts and Crafts-style house in 1992 and constructed a new one in 1994. Hewitt says in other hands, Edgemere's most likely fate was that the estate would have been subdivided into a cul-de-sac of 17 single lots. "It's really the last big, intact, romantic estate on this part of the lake and it would be a real shame to cut it up into bits and pieces. Even if the heritage buildings remained intact, the linkages would be lost." Hewitt says as a condominium site, the estate will remain as single piece of land. "It's a way to intensify the residential use while keeping the cultural and historical aspects. This is the right thing to do." The plan has generated some controversy -- mainly because some residents are afraid a condominium project will set a precedent in the exclusive area, Hewitt says. But he thinks that's highly unlikely, seeing as the project and site are so unique. "I have not heard one logical planning argument against it," he says. The residents are also concerned about traffic and public waterfront access, as is Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, according to a published report in the Oakville Beaver. In response to the concerns about public waterfront access, Hewitt reiterated that the company would work with the town to provide right of entry to the lake. As part of the town's waterfront park policy, the developer will convey 15 metres of "linear park" along the shoreline to the town for public access. Edgemere's boathouse and pier would be included in this transfer, but Hewitt hopes the boathouse might be excluded so that it could be retained by Edgemere, or at least leased back, and be restored and preserved Hewitt expects to hear the views of the town's planning staff, as it will require a zoning change to allow for medium-density residential as opposed to the existing, single-family residential. He says that he's not expecting a response to his proposal until March or April. There didn't seem to be a feasible way to turn the main house into condos, Hewitt says, so on the advice of architect Peter Clewes, Hewitt decided the best solution was to take down the house and build from scratch.