Emokhare Paul Anthony
Daily Herald
The owner of the Municipal Heritage Property, originally known as the Holmes Residence and currently the home of Kilarney Kastle, has requested the Prince Albert City Council to approve plans to alter the structure as part of fire damage repairs.
Owner Kathy Borysiuk purchased the building about 20 years ago and has been running the Kilarney Kastle Eatery in it. She said there have been challenges since the fire.
The exterior of Kilarney Kastle, formerly known as the Holmes Residence, pictured on Thursday morning.
“It’s been terrible,” she said. “Insurance is very slow, (and) there’s no compensation from anyone since the business closed down.
“It is an old structure built in 1912 … so the fire incidence had a serious damage on it,” she added.
Due to the damage caused by a December 2023 fire, many of the Character Defining Elements of the property identified in Bylaw No. 21 of 2006 of the Municipal Heritage Designation Bylaw have been damaged beyond repair and others removed from the building during clean up.
The list includes both half round windows on the third floor, which need to be replace, and the southwest corner of the roof, which needs to be rebuilt.
“The difficult part was the roof,” Borysiuk said. “The fire went straight up to the very top.”
Since all the proposed alterations align with regulations and guidelines set in the City of Prince Albert Zoning Bylaw No. 1 of 2019 and the Heritage Property Act and the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada,Council approved the application.
“We are trying to put everything done together to the best we can,” Borysiuk said. “For now we are just waiting for how to redesign the roof structure. It is a process of making sure they got the design (correct).”
The zoning bylaw identifies Kilarney Kastle as a building that holds significant architectural and historical value for the City of Prince Albert. The Community Development Department is in receipt of an application to restore the Municipal Heritage Property located at 585 19th Street East.
According to a report included in the Agenda for the July 22 council meeting, the Home is associated with the original owner, Andrew Holmes, who worked as a
carpenter and joiner under the firm Garvin & Holmes. Holmes was an influential
businessman who participated in municipal government as Councillor, Alderman,
and Mayor. He was was also a veteran of the 1885 Northwest Rebellion.
Although not yet adopted, as part of a past Heritage Advisory Committee initiative, an amendment to the Bylaw was prepared, which provides a more detailed listing of the Character Defining Elements and guidelines for alterations within the Holmes Residence and it states that reconstruction, repair or replacement of Heritage Properties are to be in material, size, shape, color and configuration which match the original character defining element.
“The engineer estimation for the completion of the job is 12 months from when the
repairs starts. I will be responsible for the repairs relying on what my insurance will cover and what I have to add to it,” said Borysiuk.
In December of 2023, an electrical fire on the third floor of the Homles Residence resulted in significant damage to the Southwest corner of the building. In addition to the fire damage and the water damage caused by putting out the fire, the clean up process saw a considerable change to the interior of the building with the majority part of the property badly destroyed.
In accordance with the Municipal Heritage Bylaw and the Heritage Property Act, the property owner is applying to receive permission to alter the building, completing the necessary renovation to return it to its original state, or to a reasonable approximation.
According to the “Letter of Request,the applicant is looking to start the renovation work immediately and have the property open to the public by December 2024.
The council admitted that based on the information provided and the heritage value review undertaken by Administration in accordance with the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places, Administration supports this heritage property restoration application and recommends approval and the applicant notified of the City Council’s decision.
The strategic priority of Promoting a Progressive Community references the City’s Culture Plan, which is intended to bolster and promote Prince Albert’s unique cultural qualities.
City administrators wrote in their report that proper management and maintenance of Prince Albert’s municipal heritage properties is critical in keeping with the Culture Plan as there are few examples in existence and they form a valuable part of our past.
editorial@paherald.sk.ca
