Ian and Kelly MacKenzie-Thurley didn’t meet in Hamilton; they met in the Czech Republic and travelled extensively together in their arts-centered work, eventually getting married. Ian jokes that he was one of only a few people who vacationed in Hamilton, but after 14 years abroad, Hamilton called them back, this time to stay.
Ian will be the first to say he didn’t know he’d end up calling Hamilton home, but the changes he saw in the city over 14 years of visits were positive ones. They began to get involved in town, and one evening, they learned a lot more about CORE.
“We were at a ballet performance for our daughter,” Ian said. “We sat with Mike and Cindy Dingeldein, who were also ballet parents. I had just started working at the Fitton Center, so we said we were looking for a house. We wanted four walls and a front door.”
When Mike Dingeldein, Executive Director of the CORE Fund, showed them some properties, they had the chance at so much more than a front door. CORE works with property buyers to renovate and revitalize properties around Hamilton that are still wonderful but in need of serious repair. 
Ian said, “you can put as much sweat equity as you want on a CORE property; they are doing this all over the city, saving places.”
The MacKenzie-Thurley’s saw their North 2nd Street home, and behind layers of dust and some disrepair, there was a glimmer of potential.
“It looked like a beautiful house – it was, and it could be. At that particular time, though, it needed a lot of work,” Ian said.
Kelly’s eye went to the walls and floors and the stairway, though: “The handcarved wooden bannisters, the beautiful wooden fireplace, and the Oak pocket doors… there is Oak everywhere!”
The choice came down to a simple one: “Where do you want to have coffee and read the paper on Saturday morning?”
They both mentioned that they thought they might regret turning down such an opportunity. They had a feeling that German Village was in the process of becoming something new, even though this was well before the Marcum Apartments or the Marcum Park that are now nearby.
“It takes time and vision – you’ve got to really want it. We walked away and came back, and it took an extra year from that choice to moving in, since we were still getting plans, permissions, zoning, and all of those things have to be approved,” Ian said. “It was a bit of good luck and good management; we saw the future a bit and gambled on it.”
Builders worked with the MacKenzie-Thurleys on designs, and they put in time working on the attic. The previous neglect of the property meant that landscapers took three tons of material out of the back and front yards before they could revamp it into what it is today.
They credit the neighbors and their model for how to bring new young families into the German Village neighborhood; neighbors became friends over time as they compared notes on how to care for these historic buildings. Now, the neighborhood is one of the assets that the MacKenzie-Thurleys value most.
“We sit out on the porch in the mornings and talk to people as they come by,” Kelly said. “We go out at 6:30 and have coffee together.”
Their favorite room of the house, therefore, isn’t strictly a room at all.
“We barely noticed the porch until the renovations were done; we just walked through,” Ian said. “But now, the porch is our favorite room in the house. We’re people people, and it’s communal; we love having people out there.”
Ian and Kelly saw their own home transform, but they’ve also seen the attitudes of Hamilton citizens change in light of the city’s renewal.
“There are so many people devoted to the vision of Hamilton; everyone is working toward that vision and that’s why our city