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n se / 2. / c -2. By Henry Bury THE INTELLIGENCER I -The oldest house in BelleviMiS; now home to future planning activityMn the city. , : Ainley Group, Consulting Engineers and Planners, has purchased and inoved its Belleville office into the historical Macintosh-Ridley Hqu|e at 45;Sputh Front St.* -Jh^j IwSise was-Auiltiirca 1817 ahdwas on the demolition block; in; the, early^!980s before the historical community rallied to restore the structure. ; > : « ; "i, The two urban planner Si a prOftissional engineer and; technical: .and Suppdit f taff have beeii coil ' ^ducting business Tromy tffejtwo-x storey, 3,600 square'|dot,;;hp;rde sincif! early October, "f C, · ? : · " :";'. Xn open house and tingrceremony were afternoon and :dignitarieMlire|i<f-! fed company officials from ftsMJjrefi' other offices mCollingwooj^l^iMJi and' Ottawa as well as repllSifitl-; lives of local historical groups. William Ainley, chairman of/Alii-; ley Group, said his company purchased the building earlier^lMs year from Peter Morch and coffipleted extensive renovations tojtiie interior. " ^ . "We are pleased to take on the stewardship of this fine piece ofl early Belleville history," he said. Ainley Group employs more, than 90 people in Ontario, including almost 10 at the Belleville; office. It is a well-established planning and engineering consulting firm which has served municipal and private sector clients throughout Ontario for the past 40 years. The Belleville office has been meeting the development and municipal engineering and planning needs of the Quinte region for almost 30 years. Ainley said his company had always rented office space in Belleville -- its last location was the Jamieson Bone building at 157 Front St. -- until a decision was; made earlier this year to purchase a building somewhere in the city. "We looked at four or five buildings in Belleville and when we saw this one, we realized it was the one we wanted," he said. There was a good reason for! selecting the Macintosh-Ridley House that boasts several offices, a small library, large board room! and rental space. "We have three other buildings and they're all modern box officetype buildings. The idea came that this (Macintosh-Ridley House) would be different. We do a lot of planning here and so we felt it would just be right," said Ainley. Coun. Kay Manderville was thrilled with Ainley Group's decision to buy and move its city operation into the historical home. "I am told this is the oldest house in Belleville and so I'm really pleased that this is active and alive and well looked after and a part of our community," she said. Manderville said Thursday's ceremony was even more special considering the house was almost demolished in the early 1980s after it fell into disrepair. The house was constructed around 1817 by Martha Macintosh, widow of Capt. John Macintosh who drowned in the Bay of Quinte in 1815. Dr. George Ridley purchased the home from Macintosh and her new husband, Donald McLellan, in 1829. The Ridleys sold the home in 1900 and it has had many owners since. At one time in the 1930s, the house served as the factory for E.F. Dickens and Son, bakers and confectioners. The Mackenzie family purchased the property in 1937 and became known as the Mackenzie Feed Building until the 1970s. The house was empty for about 20 years and fell into disrepair and Manderville recalled how there was plenty of discussion around demolishing the structure in the early 1980s. "The historical society and other interested parties got together and put forth a big effort to get this house renovated on the outside and save it. And they did. And the nice part now is that the Ainley Group is coming in here...and it will commemorate the old activity that was here years ago with Macintosh and Ridley," Manderville said. Belleville City Council designated the house in 1983 as a building of historical and architectural interest. \ a er\ce r ia/oa, p.