from the February 28, 2012 Windsor Star,
WINDSOR, Ont. — Olde Walkerville has been named one of the best old house neighbourhoods in Canada by This Old House magazine.
“It came as a really big surprise,” said Chris Holt, chairman of the Olde Walkerville Residents Association which just formed in October.
For its April edition, This Old House picked Olde Walkerville as one of 10 Canadian neighbourhoods in its best old house neighbourhood list that “uncovered 61 vibrant neighbourhoods from coast-to-coast where you’ll find one-of-a-kind houses.”
Holt said the international attention as one of Canada’s best neighbourhoods is great and deserved. You just don’t see neighbourhoods like this anymore, he said.
“It really reinforces the fact that we have a very special neighbourhood. They chose us because we are one of the last intact company towns that are based on the garden city movement,” Holt said of the town with more green space built beside Hiram Walker’s whisky distillery.
“We’re still intact after 150 years. You walk through the streets of old Walkerville and it’s almost exactly the same as it was when Hiram Walker was developing it for his workers.”
And it’s the walking in Walkerville that residents say makes it special.
“It’s kind of funny that it’s called Walkerville because it’s got a lot of walkability,” said Elaine Weeks who lives on Windermere Road and used to publish the Walkerville Times.
You can walk to specialty shops and restaurants on Wyandotte Street or you can stroll on tree-lined streets past Tudor Revival mansions and brick row houses.
From his rented home, association secretary Chris Schnurr is close to shops on Wyandotte Street where he can browse in Timeless Treasures or head to brunch at The Twisted Apron, one of his favourite spots.
“I can walk to everything I need,” said Schnurr who has lived in Walkerville for eight of the 10 years he’s lived in Windsor.
He loves the trees, the greenery and that people in his neighbourhood look out for each other.
“In Walkerville people sit out on their porches. They invite you over for coffee. It’s a very different atmosphere,” Schnurr said.
Not having to drive everywhere and house prices that range from $150,000 to $1 million were touted by This Old House.
Richard Bordage, a sales representative with Prudential Select Realty, said houses in old Walkerville don’t stay on the market long if they don’t need extensive renovations, especially houses in the Willistead area and ones on Chilver, Kildare and Windermere. “They go very fast,” Bordage said.
Bordage who pitches Walkerville as an “increasingly vibrant, mini-Greenwich Village” said it is awesome news to be mentioned in This Old House. Bordage moved from Montréal to Walkerville 14 years ago because the beautiful homes reminded him of older areas of Montréal. He said people from Montréal who want to retire here find houses cost less than half than what they would sell for in Montréal.
“When people look at the homes in Walkerville out of town, if there’s enough photos it’s an automatic sale. The charm is there. People can’t believe the pricing. Walkerville’s unique that’s for sure.”
Alex Ciotoli, 34, moved from Southwood Lakes to Walkerville two years ago with his wife and has no regrets. They’ve been renovating a Windermere Road house that is more than 80 years old.
Ciotoli said there’s a sense of community — when he was moving he found a bag of pears on his porch from a neighbour — and a sense of history.
“The architecture is just stunning.”
shill@windsorstar.com
or 519-255-5796
Visit the Walkerville page on This Old House magazine’s website at http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20569042_21121744,00.html
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Tags: The Windsor Star, This Olde House
