Historic home in Amherst, N.S., converted to affordable housing

A nearly 200-year-old house in Amherst has been transformed with affordability in mind.

A nearly 200-year-old home in Amherst has been given new life as an affordable housing complex, thanks to a local construction company’s innovative approach to preservation.

“This house was originally constructed in 1857,” said contractor Tom Mattinson. “Originally, when this house was lived in as a single-family home, it was heated with a combination of wood and oil, with portions of the house closed off to make it more heatable.”

Mattinson and his wife, tired of seeing the historic Victoria Street home decline, purchased it with the goal of restoration and modernization.

“We stripped out the interior walls, built a whole other wall structure, we retrofitted all the windows, upgraded ventilation systems, upgraded heating systems,” Mattinson explained. “We are probably closer to, in terms of carbon, we’re probably closer to around 30 per cent of the original, what it would have taken to heat this house. The former owner told me they burned about 11 quarts of wood and a couple of tanks of oil every year.”

Construction manager Tim Stevens noted the challenges of the eight-month renovation, particularly the roof. “One being the absolutely ridiculous adventure it was to build this roof,” Stevens said. “A mansard roof with elliptical windows in it all done with sheet steel Americana style is a feat that not many people would even take on or know how to approach to begin with.”

Despite the difficulties, Stevens emphasized the long-term vision. “We’re trying to meet codes that are going to be in place in like 2035,” he said. “This is an almost 200-year-old home, and we want it to be another 200-year-old home.”

Local artist Jackie Wheaton was brought in to preserve the home’s character. “When it comes to these kind of places, especially Victorian homes or any old homes, I don’t like when too much modernization comes into it. I don’t like taking away the character because we only have so many limited homes that have that kind of character,” Wheaton said. “There was a lot of washing to the walls originally being done. And as we were washing, we noticed that it wasn’t all coming off, and also that it was taking away some of the original details of the mansion. And so, what we decided to do is just match as much as we could. And how I did that was I made sure that each part, if they had a pattern to copy it, like the bricks themselves.”

The renovated building now offers seven affordable housing units. “This project alone is 7 units so that compromises of three 2 bedrooms and four 1 bedrooms,” Stevens confirmed.

Mattinson added, “Our one bedrooms, all included here, are 850 and the two bedrooms, all included here, are 1000.”

This project serves as an example for modernizing historic homes in the region.

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