The house at 12 Euclid St. in tree-lined Unionville is the setting for an upcoming episode of The Border, a Canadian TV show set in a Quebec-Vermont border town. The building, built in 1949, will be demolished to make way for a new home.
Markham
September 06, 2008 08:41 PM
Chris Traber
You need a passport to go to the bathroom, a tourist visa to make coffee and you’re never really sure what country you’re in.
You’re in Vermont and Quebec and Ontario and you’ve never left the same house.
In reality, you’re in a quaint Unionville home, No. 12 on quiet Euclid Street.
In fantasy, thanks to Canadian TV series The Border, you’re straddling the boundary of fictional Townshend, Quebec, and Hopkins Hollow, Vermont, assistant location manager Keith Park said.
The show, nominated for nine Gemini drama awards last week, will feature the home in the second season’s fourth episode Oct. 20, Mr. Park said.
Scripted about the residents and adventures of a small rural border town, the producers portray the property as the home of a border guard. In the story line, half the house is on Canadian soil and the other on U.S. terra firma.
They filmed at the circa 1949 house and at other Unionville locations over two days in mid-July.
Location scouts found the home and neighbourhood ideal, Mr. Park said.
“It’s a great house,” he said. “It’s got lots of trees and space to move around in. And, Markham-Unionville has done a good job maintaining its history and small community feel.”
The crew also used a Maple Lane property and portions of Main Street Unionville to appear as border crossings, he said.
A real subplot swirls around the 59-year-old home occupied by a rental tenant.
Owner Evan MacDonald, who purchased the property a few years ago and is in the midst of selling it conditionally, was unaware the house was contracted as a TV production location. He said he would address the issue with his tenant.
The home has also been under Markham council’s spotlight.
A few months before film crews arrived, Mr. MacDonald was auditioning a request for a permit to demolish the dwelling.
On June 10, council voted nine to four in favour of approving the permit, subject to various Ontario Heritage Act terms and conditions. Namely, the applicant had to advertise the availability of the dwelling for relocation or for the salvaging of materials to avoid more landfill. Site plan approval for a new 3,000-sq.-ft. dwelling had to be obtained and it had to be compatible with the community and in compliance with the Unionville Heritage Conservation District plan.
The owner also had to agree to work with town staff to retain mature trees and vegetation on the property.
“All reasonable,” Mr. MacDonald said.
One of the conditions of the sale, Mr. MacDonald said, is getting permission for the new owner to level the existing structure. The process required him to meet with the town on numerous occasions, he said.
Markham born resident Mac Cosburn and his wife, Jennifer, have a binding purchase-sale agreement on the property, Mr. Cosburn said. The deal should be sealed by the end of the month.
“My wife and I are purchasing (the property) with the intent of demolishing (the existing house) and building a new home that is consistent with heritage standards and guidelines,” he said.
The Cosburns have made a severance application which, if approved, allows them to divide the 80-foot by 330-foot lot and build a second house. They plan on building the new structures next year, he said.
“Many of the neighbours know what we’re doing and they seem to be comfortable with it,” Mr. Cosburn said.
Although the house is in the heritage conservation district, it doesn’t qualify as a historic property, Mr. MacDonald said.
“It was built in 1949,” he said. “To me, that doesn’t constitute an historical building.”