In four years, 7 Austin Terr. has gone from a historic house slipping into disrepair to a celebrated heritage property as well as a unique school assignment.

The Casa Loma area home, built in 1910 and inhabited by Maclean’s magazine founder John B. Maclean, had been purchased in 2009 by John Todd of 1626829 Ontario Ltd. Neighbours in the Wells Hill area were alarmed when workers began to remove heritage aspects of the house, allegedly without a demolition permit, leaving the Georgian Revival home in dire straits. In 2011, Renaissance Fine Homes took ownership of the house with a pledge to restore it.

“What drew us to the property was not only its potential, but the opportunity to preserve and restore the history and legacy of 7 Austin Terr.,” said Matt Garnet, president of Renaissance Fine Homes. “Our architects and designers got the opportunity to marry the old and new.”

Coun. Joe Mihevc said although 7 Austin Terr. is an example of restoration done right, it was a rocky road to get to this point. “It had become a very decrepit property,” he said. “We have a unique responsibility to preserve heritage.”

The area surrounding Casa Loma has been the setting of several heated heritage fights, including the recent scramble to save chocolatier Charles Neilson’s former Wells Hill home. Mihevc said the City of Toronto will be taking measures to ensure these conflicts do not continue to happen. “The next step is to work on the official designation of the whole area,” he said.  A review is slated to begin in 2015, when the city could possibly designate the whole neighbourhood as a heritage preservation district.

The Austin Terrace restoration was assisted by a partnership between Renaissance and two George Brown College construction programs.

“The students studying 7 Austin Terr. are extremely fortunate,” said professor Douglas LaPorte. “Some will enter the restoration aspect of the construction field, and this is a textbook example of how to do it right.”