The owner of a home on Haliburton Street has won the inaugural Heritage House Renovations Awards.
Kevin Brandt was presented with a trophy Wednesday, April 21, by Chris Sholberg, Nanaimo’s culture and heritage planner, and Christine Meutzner, Nanaimo Community Archives manager, for the exterior renovation of his house at 722 Haliburton St.
Brandt’s house was built around 1912 and is California bungalow-style that represents a shift away from the miners’ cottages that had been built in that area in the late 1800s, Meutzner said.
The awards were created as a chance for property owners to be recognized for their renovation projects, big or small, that they took on during the pandemic.
READ ALSO: Nanaimo archives holding first Heritage House Renovation Awards
Brandt said he found he had extra time while awaiting the start of a new job and when he started peeling away exterior siding he found stucco underneath and then the original shiplap wood siding under the stucco. The discovery led him to restore the house exterior to how it would have appeared when it was first constructed and preserve the original character of the home. As part of the renovation work, Brandt also recreated the home’s original inset porch, which had been closed in at some point in the structure’s history.
Meutzner said Brandt’s efforts to restore the home’s original heritage exterior is what earned him the win.
Renovation projects to a house 615 Prideaux St. and at 250 Pine St. also earned special recognition awards.
To learn more about the awards and view a short video with before-and-after images of the home renovation projects, visit Nanaimo Community Archives’ website at www.nanaimoarchives.ca.
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Chris Sholberg, City of Nanaimo culture and heritage planner, left, presents a first place award to Kevin Brandt for his restoration of his home's exterior to its original state. Brandt is the first recipient of the Heritage House Renovation Awards, created by Nanaimo Community Archives to recognize renovation projects taken on in 2020 during the pandemic.
