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

Friday, April 28, 2017

Three Corners on Crown Street

The corner of Crown Street and West King Edward borders on both the Pacific Spirit Park and Chaldecott Park. The corner looked like this on a lovely fall day in October 2016.


Built in 1946, sold in January 2015, demolished in early March 2017.

The second house was on the corner of Crown and West 37th Avenue. This was built in 1939 and impeccably cared for over the years until it was sold in March 2015. On the Crown side was a wrought iron fence. This photo from April 2016 shows attacks by crows.


From March 2017:


Only a fragment of the wrought iron fence remained after the demolition in late April 2017. I was surprised to see this magnolia transplanted in the corner, and in another corner, a weigela bush was transplanted. Did neighbourhood gardeners persuade the builder to save these mature bushes?

What will the future house look like?

Perhaps something like this photo on display by the builder. There is a lane, so an ugly garage shouldn't be part of the front of the new house. Incidentally, this was a good investment since the 2016 assessment increased well over $1M from 2015, and that is with the charming but low-assessed old house.

The third house was demolished on April 27, 2017. It was on the corner of Crown and West 31st Avenue. According to my notes taken from old real estate ads, this large 1930 house had been renovated in 2009, 2010, and 2011. My oldest photo is from 2011:



My notes indicate that it was for sale in 2009 and 2011. Here it is for sale yet again in October 2014, although no record of its being sold in 2014 is on the e-valueBC website:



Renters probably enjoyed this 5 bedroom, 3 bath house. In March of 2015, the pink camellia bloomed. I would have saved the pink camellia and not the holly tree. The nettles on the corner are still there for the locals, who know about them, to enjoy.




Look at these colours of the original house!







What is the future of this corner? The ad for the house on the southwest corner of Crown and West 31st Avenue displayed only one photo, of the exterior, so it also will probably be a demolition. And note the red fencing not only around 3993 but also down the block, another future blog unfortunately.