Why London history buffs shouldn't worry about the old courthouse changing hands

A Toronto urban planning guru says London history buffs shouldn't worry too much about the sale of London's historic courthouse to a private developer.

Joe Berridge is an urban planner and partner with Urban Strategies Group. His work has shaped the redevelopment of some the world's great cities, including Toronto, Singapore, London, England and New York City.

He said local history buffs shouldn't be too worried about the sale of one of London's oldest and most significant historic buildings to a private developer.

"They're right to be protective and they're right to be concerned," he said. "That building is going to be subject to quite strict heritage controls. It has to be really respectfully treated."

London's old courthouse older than British Parliament

The Middlesex County building, built in 1827 by Toronto architect John Ewart, has played a central role in some of the 19th century Canada's most biggest legal cases, including the Donnelly massacre and the Upper Canada riots. 

The building was declared a national historic site in 1955 because Heritage Canada calls it a "nationally significant" example of Gothic revival style architecture in Canada, predating the earliest Gothic Revival public building in England: the Houses of Parliament. 

It was announced on Wednesday that the building, along with the home of the Middlesex London Health Unit, would be sold by the County of Middlesex to York Developments, a London-based commercial and residential development firm, for an undisclosed sum. 

• Old courthouse and health unit building sold to York Developments

Berridge said reinventing historic buildings is a difficult task. When done right, it can create what he called "a wonderful contradiction." 

"It's this collision between energetic new uses that reflect the new economy, the new London and these fine stately significant buildings that should be treated with reverence." 

"That's what successful heritage restoration is about. It's actually bringing in these new ideas and these new uses that collide in a very positive fashion, to bring out the inherent qualities of the building and renew it for the coming decades." 

Berridge said redefining the old courthouse will take "imagination, risk and investment," and the historic stone building has potential as a restaurant, hotel or retail area. 

"Things that bring some actual liveliness to that corner," he said. "To have something with some energy to it, I think, would benefit the entire city." 

Not everyone sees it that way, however. 

Because of its location at the forks of the Thames River and its proximity to Museum London, the building anchors the western portion of the core. Downtown London interim CEO Gerald Gallacher sees it as a missed opportunity for a key piece of heritage property to stay in public hands. 

"A developer is going to use the land to make a profit," he said. "The city could have made it some kind of public space. It's a key piece of real estate, historically."

As one of the most historically significant buildings in London, the former courthouse was something the City of London had its eye on, according to the city's mayor Ed Holder. 

"We saw the historic nature of the building and felt that we would be great guardians," he said, noting city officials were prepared to buy it for a price that would have been in the millions of dollars.

However, if city officials had any idea what they were going to do with it, Holder wouldn't say. 

"We weren't that far along in any formal considerations," he told CBC News. "Ultimately, cash counts. We were outbid."