One of the city's oldest buildings could be designated as a Municipal Heritage Site.

The building, known as the Scott House, is located at 206 Hawkins St. in downtown Whitehorse. It has been recognized as a site of architectural and historical significance, senior planner Mike Gau told city council Tuesday night.

'The Official Community Plan supports this designation,' Gau said.

On the heritage registry scale, he added, the property scored a 14 out of 15, making it one of the city's more significant sites.

Heritage evaluation is part of the city's Heritage Bylaw, available on the city's website. Scoring includes the architectural history, cultural history, context, integrity and age of the building.

Gau said the home's new owner, Joanne Baines, has already received 75 per cent of a $10,000-grant to make improvements to the property. The grant was designed to be an incentive to preserve cultural buildings in the city, he added.

He said Baines will receive the additional 25 per cent of the grant when renovations are completed and inspected by the city.

According to the official Scott House Statement of Significance, the home was built between 1908 and 1910 by Albert E. Henderson, who was then a foreman at the city's Shipyards.

At the time of its construction, the home was considered an upper-class residence. The statement notes that 'its vernacular style features unusual, narrow bevel siding ... lapped boards of a ship hulls ... turned porch columns and bow windows ... cobble stone fireplace (1936) ... stained glass ... (and) large airy rooms with high ceilings' are unique and unusual.

The statement also asserts the likelihood that many of the materials used in the building's construction came from the Shipyards as the materials closely resembled those used on British Yukon Navigation Co. vessels.

According to the Yukon Historical and Museums Association, after Henderson, ownership of the house changed hands several times from Henderson to druggist H.G. MacPherson in 1923, to bank manager J.C. Newmarch also in 1923, to miner John Henderson Scott in 1927, to Laura Scott in 1929, to postmaster Hamilton Dagish in 1936, to Jessie Howat in 1942, to Dorothy Livingstone Scott in 1956 before becoming the property of the late John Delbert (J.D.) Scott on April 29, 1979.

J.D. Scott was the son John Henderson Scott, who came to the Yukon during the Gold Rush. He was best known for his activities as a geological engineer.

He was a mine superintendent at Treadwell Yukon in Elsa, and designed the Calumet-Elsa tramway and opened the Calumet and No Cash mines.

J.D. Scott was also the founder of the redevelopment of the Venus mines near Carcross and, along with his brother-in-law John Phelps, designed and constructed the first hydroelectric plant near Fish Lake in Whitehorse.

The matter will come before council Aug. 22 and, if moved forward, will also be subject to a public hearing as required under the Historic Resource Act.

If council decides to designate the site as Municipal Heritage Site, the designation would likely occur in late November or early December.