Houses saved from demolition being moved to First Nation on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast
CTV
A major move underway in Port Moody will see 10 houses saved from the wrecking ball and given new leases on life on the Sunshine Coast where they can nurture future generations of families.
A major move underway in Port Moody will see 10 houses saved from the wrecking ball and given new leases on life on the Sunshine Coast where they can nurture future generations of families.
"We had a lot of Christmases and birthdays here," said Wendy Kinloch, the former owner of one of the houses. "We've been in the house for 34 years and raised two beautiful girls here."
The house on Windsor Drive is one of 59 originally slated for demolition after being purchased as part of a land assembly by Wesgroup, a developer with plans to build a dense master-planned community with 2,500 new residential units at the site.
But now 10 of the old houses have been deemed appropriate for relocation.
"Demolition should be the last option, not the first. And as we're proving today, there's a very viable alternative. And a responsible alternative," said Glyn Lewis, owner of Renewal Home Development. "Which is to physically rescue, relocate and repurpose many more of these homes."
After driving through the neighbourhood and identifying the homes he thought could be saved, Lewis reached out to the developer to see if it would be amenable to the idea.
Once Wesgroup was on board, Lewis made contact with the shíshalh Nation near Sechelt which currently has 200 families on its housing waitlist.
