Point Tadenac Peninsula, Georgian Bay Shore, MacTier, Ont.
Asking price: $3.295-million
Agents: Paul Crammond and Sheila Waengler (Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd.)
Taxes: $18,200 (which includes two adjoining vacant parcels, for sale separately)
The back story
The craggy point at the end of the Tadenac Peninsula was vacant land owned by the privately held Tadenac Fishing Club when the late James McCutcheon purchased it in the 1970s.
Mr. McCutcheon was a lawyer who asked his former University of Toronto fraternity brother, architect Peter Warren, to design a cottage for his family in a remote location dubbed “A World Apart.”
Following his studies at U of T, Mr. Warren had gone on to earn a master of architecture degree at Yale University and then started his career at the Toronto-based Parkin Partnership. There he was part of a team that worked on the Art Gallery of Ontario and Bell Trinity Square.
When he wasn’t working on cultural landmarks and corporate edifices, Mr. Warren sometimes designed cottages and country houses for family and friends.
“It was an interesting kind of process,” says Mr. Warren, explaining that the zoning requirements were quite restrictive on Georgian Bay. They brought in local builder Leonard Roi for the job.
They chose a site that took advantage of the rock formation and the outlook, then set about designing a cottage that wouldn’t appear too obtrusive.
“We wanted to make it look as comfortable as possible on the rock.”
The modern building had cedar shingles that weathered gradually to blend into the surroundings.
Over time, one cottage expanded into a family compound.
Mr. Warren designed an addition to the main cottage that virtually created a second residence. It was allowed under the zoning rules because the two parts had a continuous roofline.
“As long as you’re connected by a roof, it’s still one building.”
Mr. Warren recalls spending a lot of time to make a smooth transition between the two parts. When it came to designing the boathouse and other building’s, Mr. McCutcheon insisted that all of the rooflines be the same.
“We had some fun with it,” says the architect.
The property is on the mainland but feels more like an island because there’s no road leading to it, says real estate agent Paul Crammond of Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd. To reach the cottage, residents and their guests drive to King Bay Marina at the end of Twelve Mile Bay Road. From there, it takes about five minutes of calm boating to reach the property.
“It’s a really protected boat ride,” says Mr. Crammond, adding that it’s also a good place to land a float plane.
Mr. Crammond, who is based in the town of Port Carling in Muskoka, says that, although Georgian Bay and Muskoka are not a great distance apart geographically, they have quite different cultures. Cottages tend to be much farther apart in the Georgian Bay area, and navigating the 30,000 Islands by boat is far more challenging.
“I think that people on the Bay don’t think that Muskokans are real cottagers,” he observes.
The cottage today
The cottage sits on a 12-acre property with 1,200 feet of contoured shoreline. There’s a small, curving sandy beach and lots of sloping rock that provides gentle access to the water.
“They love all the waterfront activities that kids can do safely,” Mr. Crammond says.
There’s a dry-dock boathouse and a dock for several boats.
The modern cottage is built of British Columbia cedar with wall-to-wall expanses of windows. The roof lines are kept low so that the cottage blends into the terrain.
“It doesn’t tower over the land,” Mr. Crammond says. “When you look at it from the boat, it looks as if it’s part of the land.”
The main cottage provides 3,400 square feet of living space centred around a combined living and dining room with high ceilings, clerestory windows and a stone fireplace. A separate kitchen opens to a large screened porch.
A master-bedroom suite and four other bedrooms provide lots of sleeping accommodations. A family room behind the kitchen gives kids an indoor place to gather for games or to watch movies.
The main cottage is winterized, Mr. Crammond says, which means family members can walk across the ice from the marina when they want to visit during the winter.
The self-contained guest wing attached to the main cottage has two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchenette and living area. There’s also a two-bedroom guest cottage. An enclosed pavilion can be used for large family gatherings or it can serve as a gym and yoga studio on rainy days.
From the shore, Mr. Crammond points toward two uninhabited “picnic islands” of flat rock which shelter the dock from western winds and also provide more tranquil spots from which to watch the sunset.
“They take a flotilla with kayaks and canoes,” Mr. Crammond says of the McCutcheon family.
Farther out, the American Camp Islands are owned by the charitable Georgian Bay Land Trust. “The neat thing about those picnic islands is you can look right over them,” he says. “They don’t block your view but they sure block the waves.”
Behind the property, land is privately held by the members of the Tadenac Fishing Club. Besides the main property, the two vacant adjoining parcels are also offered for sale by the family.
The best feature
Mr. Crammond says the secluded setting of the cottage makes it particularly private.
“You see boats going by but they’re not coming 20 feet off your dock. They can’t.”
In some cottage areas, people drive to the golf course or head into town for shopping. On Georgian Bay, the natural landscape is the draw.
“It’s traditional cottaging,” says Mr. Crammond. “You and your family and your neighbours create your own entertainment.”