Get a coach house for free, and help save a heritage home from demolition: This is a win-win the North Shore Heritage Preservation Society is hoping will keep history alive in a local backyard.
A local developer and the heritage society are offering a heritage home at 336 East 9th Street in North Vancouver, hoping to save it from ending up in the landfill.
The home known as James Residence or the Copper Cottage can simply be carted away and would make for a good coach house, says Peter Miller, the president of the North Shore Heritage Preservation Society.
“We have confirmed with Nickel Bros that it can be moved. Ideally, a property within the City of North Vancouver would be great but other locations can be considered,” Miller says.
The moving cost would be under $60,000, says Cassidy Vander Ros, marketing manager for Nickel Bros, and it would take roughly a week to move the house with prep work done prior to the move.
The owner would want to avoid the demolition cost and dumping fees and may pitch in with the moving cost, Miller says.
This kind of relocation has been done before with another house on the north side of Keith Road just off of Sutherland Road. And yet another home on East 23rd Street was carted away to Maple Ridge, where it is being used as a primary residence.
From the society’s perspective, the relocation of heritage homes isn’t an ideal solution for preservation.
The heritage society would prefer that the home stay on the original location and a Heritage Revitalization Agreement be signed with the city, usually in exchange for higher density.
In the case of Copper Cottage, Miller says the City of North Vancouver tried to incentivize the developer to keep the house, but with duplex zoning and the high original purchase price, the developer did not find that option economically feasible.
“Our first preference is to keep the house in place, but once in the hands of a developer, it’s hard to get them to see our point of view. What we really need is to make sure that when these houses are sold, they stay in the hands of heritage-sympathetic buyers,” Miller says.
If you are interested in taking the home and using it as a coach house, Miller suggests talking to the City of North Vancouver about the permits, access and zoning.
Miller says CNV would view such a proposal favourably.
If you are interested to know more, please contact the heritage society or Nickel Bros on how to relocate this heritage home and make it your new coach house.
I’m interested in owning this house. I am a clean and orderly person. And I’ll take good care of this house. Please give me a chance.