When Ken Hirschkop moved into historic Cabbagetown in 2005, he didn’t expect a tourist site to pop up behind his backyard. But he says that’s what the house a 2 St. James Ct. has become. It’s not because, among the rows of Victorians adorned with official heritage conservation district plaques, this house possesses particular charm. It’s because its box-like exterior and perpetual state of partial-construction makes it seem out of place.“It looks like it’s landed from space,” Hirschkop said, noting that Cabbagetown visitors regularly make detours to catch a glimpse of the unusual building. The house belongs to 78-year-old Norm Rogers, and its redevelopment has been the subject of a 10-year-old battle between neighbours , first over proposals for a bigger house on the lot, then over damage and inconvenience caused by the construction.Now, construction of a house that Rogers, neighbours, and the city agreed upon (resemblance to spacecraft aside) in 2014 is well underway, but those plans are being held up by neighbours who accuse Rogers of neglecting to stick to their agreement.Rogers’ house was supposed to be completed last December, and complaints about property damage have mounted steadily since construction recommenced about a year ago.“It’s such a colossal waste of everyone’s time,” Hirschkop said. Rogers agrees, and says that, after the long slog to build his home, he no longer plans to live there; the stairs of the three-storey house would be too much for him to manage at his age.“All I want to do is build the house,” he said in an interview Thursday. Then he’ll move out of the city. Rogers is now in a standoff with Laura Allen, Hirschkop’s neighbour, whose backyard Rogers needs to access in order to complete the work. “We’re prepared to finish it, and finish it so it looks really good,” Rogers said. He warned Allen that, witho ...
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