{"id":3351,"date":"2011-10-13T10:30:37","date_gmt":"2011-10-13T17:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingvancouver.ca\/?p=3351"},"modified":"2011-10-12T20:38:44","modified_gmt":"2011-10-13T03:38:44","slug":"heritage-vancouver-bulletin-demolition-threat-historic-legg-residence-1899","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/vancouver\/2011\/10\/13\/heritage-vancouver-bulletin-demolition-threat-historic-legg-residence-1899\/","title":{"rendered":"Heritage Vancouver Bulletin: Demolition threat – historic Legg Residence (1899)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The City has received an application that seeks to demolish the Legg Residence<\/strong>, one of the city\u2019s three remaining grand estate homes from the turn of the 19th century and an extremely important link to the history of both the West End and Vancouver. The house at 1241 Harwood Street was under construction in July 1899, just 12 years after the arrival of the CPR railway. The Klondike Gold Rush had ushered in a brief wave of prosperity, and the city\u2019s wealthier citizens were developing a number of grand residences, such as Gabriola<\/em> on Davie Street, the Abbott House<\/em> on Jervis Street and the Legg Residence<\/em> on Harwood Street in the desirable West End neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

The fact that the Legg Residence has been evaluated as a category \u201cA\u201d resource, the highest rating on the City of Vancouver\u2019s Heritage Register, speaks to its historic value for our community.<\/p>\n

In May of this year the owner presented a proposal to Council that would have seen the Legg Residence preserved and restored to its \u201cGold Rush splendour\u201d in exchange for permission to build a 17-storey tower on site. The Heritage Revitalization Agreement would have ensured that the Mansion would be conserved for the enjoyment of future generations. The proposal followed all of the city\u2019s own guidelines, had been approved by the city\u2019s Heritage Commission and Design Panel and was supported by city staff. Despite this, City Council turned down an opportunity to preserve this important part of Vancouver\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Heritage Vancouver is now shocked by the alternate proposal to demolish the A-listed building while still allowing a 17-storey tower to be built on the site.<\/strong> We do not understand why this proposal would be supportable if the previous application \u2013 which retained an A-listed heritage resource \u2013 is not. Following this direction, rather than approving the proposal to preserve the Legg Residence, would be an enormous setback for the City of Vancouver\u2019s Heritage Program and would send a profoundly negative message to other owners contemplating retention of a heritage building. The demolition of this West End Mansion is absolutely unnecessary and would undermine the credibility of the City of Vancouver\u2019s Heritage Program. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

What can you do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a community, we have the opportunity to preserve one of the last grand original mansions of early Vancouver. Here are two opportunities to let Mayor and Council know this is important to you.<\/p>\n