Wrecking ball awaits 1914 heritage house
A wake will be held on Sunday at a 103-year-old home in Point Grey that is slated for demolition.
“It will be an opportunity for people who care about the house and who care about protecting the last bits of heritage in Vancouver to get together,” said Clare Cullen, who lives across the alley from the house at 4255 West 12th Ave. that seems to have an inevitable date with a wrecking ball.
“There will be some people who used to live in the house show up, there will be stories about the house and the families who lived there,” Cullen said.
While the house is listed as a heritage home on the city’s register, it is not designated as a heritage house, meaning it has no protection from demolition if a permit is obtained.
The owner, Li Guo Li, successfully applied for demolition and building permits last fall.
The city issued a temporary injunction in December after an outcry by neighbours and then a temporary stop-work order this week to halt the gutting going on inside.
The temporary injunction ends on Wednesday, Cullen said.
According to land title records, the property was purchased in 1976 for $75,000, sold in 1995 for $760,000 and purchased most recently in the fall of 2015 for $3.37 million by Li.
The house was rented for a year before Li was granted his demolition and building permits.
According to B.C. Assessment, the land today is worth $3.807 million and the house $314,000.
The house was built in 1914, when homes were constructed with care by craftsmen using old-growth wood, when houses were built to last. It’s the middle of three that were the first ones built on the block between 1912 and 1915.
Called the Grande Dame by the agents who last listed it, the house boasted coffered ceilings and wainscotting throughout, carved from oak and Douglas fir.
“Now all the interior has been ripped out,” Cullen said. “They’ve ripped out the kitchen, there’s a pile of beautiful doors and wood trim in the backyard.”
The 3,567-square-foot heritage house has five bedrooms, four full bathrooms, nine-foot ceilings on the main floor and a 7.5-foot ceiling in the finished basement.
The original wood-burning fireplace was still in the dining room, all bedrooms have walk-in closets and the master bedroom has a view of the mountains.
“It (the stop-work order) was a very small win,” Cullen said. “In the end, I know it’s going to get demolished.”
The wake, organized by Vancouver Vanishes, begins in front of the house at 11:30 a.m. There will be a tent and potluck finger food.