156 Benton Street
The History
The Benton House was listed in the Kitchener-Waterloo Heritage Register as a property of interest and is located adjacent to the Victoria Park Heritage District. Built in 1895 in the Berlin Vernacular architectural style, many of the original design elements of the house have remained intact—including the brick construction and decorative brickwork, gable roofline, ornamental pediment above the front door, front picture window with stained glass, and ornamental woodwork. It is recognized for its design, as well as physical, contextual, historical, and associative values within the community.
Situated in the historic heart of Downtown Kitchener, the property also contributes to the character of the street, remaining consistent with many of the other building styles located along the Benton corridor. It is within walking distance to Victoria Park, the newly developed LRT line, and many of the other exciting downtown ventures. It is also a part of the resident-formed Schneider Creek community—a very active neighborhood which organizes social events such as street closures, porch parties, and potlucks.
The Vision
The vision for this unique property was to take a once-significant single family home which had suffered significant damage due to neglect and develop it into a four-unit residential building, while preserving the architectural integrity of the single family home.
The key focus of this development was to maintain and foster a connection between the old and new – the redevelopment intentionally exposes the existing fabric of the home and has sought to preserve the characteristics which contribute to its architectural significance.
This process has including uncovering and displaying the original internal brick walls throughout the house as well as preserving the stained glass window and as much of the ornamental wood work as possible.
Serving Our Community
This project is providing the community with quality space during a time in which that was hard to come by. Making use of the space with 4 units in one house, we’ve been able to develop a community of its own within the building. In fact, one of the tenants of Benton Street has since become an official RFB Investor, having really come to believe in and champion our model of development.