It was no accident that Heritage Vancouver included the 1931 Heatley Block in Strathcona on its annual list of top 10 endangered historic sites in the city. In fact, it was the opening salvo in a fight by heritage experts and residents to save a valued site in a heritage neighbourhood.
It's a battle that highlights the tensions between old and new in one of Vancouver's oldest districts — and pits citizens against the board of the Vancouver Public Library.
Two months ago, the city's real estate department bought the commercial block at the corner of Heatley and Hastings, along with two adjacent houses dating to the late 19th-century, with a view to redeveloping the site for a new branch of the Vancouver Public Library.
Don Luxton, president of the non-profit Heritage Vancouver, says that he heard about the possible purchase early in the year, and that including Heatley Block on the endangered list in March was a deliberate attempt to save the property from demolition.
Claudine Michaud is leading a residents’ group fighting to safeguard the Heatley Block in Strathcona, one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods. (JENNIFER ROBERTS/THE GLOBE AND MAIL)
"There were rumours that the building would be demolished for a new library," he recalls.
"When we evaluated the site, it was clearly of heritage value to the area, and obviously at risk, as it is not listed on the city's Heritage Register. So it was included at the last minute as one of our top 10 sites."
The village-like Strathcona neighbourhood, tucked between Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside, is home to some of Vancouver's oldest buildings.
Its residents have fought to protect the area from redevelopment since the 1960s, when they halted construction of a major highway that would have eradicated both Strathcona and Chinatown.
"Strathcona is known as Vancouver's first neighbourhood," Mr. Luxton notes.
"It was part of the very earliest settlement of Vancouver and provided housing for many people who worked in the downtown and in the port area."
Once known mainly for crime and drugs, Strathcona is now a neighbourhood in transition, a mix of artists, ethnic groups, and young professionals drawn to an urban lifestyle in an arts-and-crafts home.
The area is remarkable for its intact rows of late 19th-century and early 20th-century architecture, unique to the city. Many of the houses have been painstakingly restored by their owners.
Although Strathcona is just a stone's throw from the gritty Downtown Eastside, earlier this year it saw its first $1-million-plus home sale, a sign of the area's growing popularity.
John Atkin, an expert on Vancouver history and head of the Strathcona Residents Association, says that because the area is experiencing significant change, it's crucial that city officials look at long-term plans for heritage buildings such as the Heatley Block.
"The city didn't do its due diligence," says Mr. Atkin, author of several books on Vancouver heritage.
"They didn't take a look at the complex and say: 'Two old heritage houses and a character building ... hmm, this might mean something to the community. We should do some checking.'"
The Vancouver Public Library does see the value of the Heatley Block, specifically its location. Officials say the site is the perfect spot for a new, 12,000-square-foot branch library that would also offer services such as English classes and employment training.
But those ambitious plans would mean demolishing the two-storey Heatley Block, which has apartments above four stores, along with two neighbouring houses — among the oldest in the city — dating to 1889 and 1898.
"The people who live [in Heatley Block], the majority, feel very passionately about wanting to stay there," says Claudine Michaud, head of a hastily organized residents' group, the Heatley Block Preservation Society.
"It's got tons of character and it was well kept by the owners," she says, adding: "The way this purchase was done, it was very much below the radar."
The residents' group has papered Strathcona with posters to save the Heatley Block and acquired about 800 signatures on a petition, which it presented to the city.
The Vancouver Public Library has been working toward a new branch in the area for several years. In 2004, Ms. Michaud took part in community consultations on the subject.
"What came out of that was to place a library as close as possible to Strathcona Elementary School," she recalls. "And also, no heritage buildings would be demolished in order to build a new library."
A year later, the library's board of trustees received financing to spend $2.5-million on purchase of land for a new branch, but does not yet have money for the building itself.
The VPL wants to build a branch that would serve Strathcona, Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside. Currently, residents use a 1,500-sq.-ft. library inside Lord Strathcona Elementary School on East Pender Street; the school's library, complete with tiny chairs, doubles as a VPL branch.
