The housing stock in the Dunbar area of Vancouver has undergone significant change in the past five years. Originally a working class neighbourhood with many quite modest homes surrounded by lovely gardens, it is now a neighbourhood that 99% of the people working in Vancouver cannot afford because the replacement homes are built to the maximum footprint and cost millions. Greenspace has been reduced. Included on this website are photos of many (not all) of the disappeared houses.
View Teardowns in the Dunbar area of Vancouver, BC in a larger map

Demolitions West of the Dunbar Community Centre

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Now Demolishing 1980's Houses

Once upon a time, the St. George's Junior School was located in a building on the northeast corner of Crown and West 30th. I used to take my young children to the playground on the corner. In the early 80's, St. George's sold the land and purchased the Sacred Heart Convent buildings and moved the junior school there, along with boarding. (Prior to this, students were boarded in houses in the neighbourhood. St. George's also sold these houses.) The old school building was demolished, and the land was divided into building lots. From what I observe from the size of the lots, eight lots were created. Houses were built there in 1980 and 1981, in the styles of those days. Now, the first one is being demolished: 3969 West 30th. It was sold on March 17, 2015 for $2,080,000, but put up for sale again in July 2016 for $4,230,000, with "building permit ready". The demo quickly followed, in late August.


From the state of the healthy grass growing in front of the garage door, I gather that the house has not been occupied for some time.

A number of other houses on this side of the block look unoccupied. All were built in the 1980's and one  in 1995, with one exception. Granted, some of these houses may have been former boarding houses for St. George's students and badly in need of replacement. The only "original" house is one built in 1927. It has been carefully preserved and cared for, a good thing, because it has to carry the historical memory for the entire north side of the block.
  
The side walk was built in 1983.

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