Another West Vancouver heritage house saved from the wrecking ball

Now that construction on Vinson House Cottages www.vinsonhousecottages.com is underway, and about to go to market, I am pleased to report on another piece of West Vancouver's history.

The Vinson House Cottages development conserves a 1913 house by moving it forward on the lot to create garages along the lane, and adding a Garden Suite below and two cottages on the grounds. I will be proposing a similar approach for the Major Rush house, which has the added benefits of being on a slightly larger corner lot.

The Major Rush house, built in 1923 was once situated on a two-acre parcel of land on Inglewood Ave. In subsequent years, the property was subdivided and today it sits on a 11,800+ sq.ft. lot at the corner of Jefferson and 12th Street. But it's a beautiful corner lot and I'm pleased to report that I have been able to purchase it with the intention of undertaking another heritage revitalization project/

The Major Rush house is sited along the norther portion of this double-sized lot. The plan is to replace the artist studio with a laneway cottage, add another cottage at the south-east corner of the property, and create a single-level garden suite in the basement of the house. Additional on-site parking will be created, along with private patios. and shared gardens.

I am now in the process of preparing plans that will conserve the house, add a garden suite below, and two cottages along the lane. Hopefully I'll have something to show the neighbourhood and District planners in the coming weeks.  But I do want to thank Mike Kemble, a former planner at the City of Vancouver, with whom I once worked on the planning of the Bayshore community, for apprising me of this property during the Public Hearing for the Vinson House.

I also want to thank Tom Hassan, a realtor at Royal LePage Sussex, http://www.tomhassan.com/ who appreciates the importance of saving West Vancouver's history, for showing me the property, and Elaine Biggan, the realtor who has worked with me over the past few years, for doing everything she could to encourage me to buy it!

I'll have much more to write about this shortly, but in the meanwhile, here is a link that describes this beautiful house and property. http://www.tomhassan.com/real-estate/1195-12th-street/