Kogawa House: can we save the house? Can we move the house? Lots of developments happening…
Monday, we, the Save Kogawa House Committee, met with Vancouver Heritage Foundation, and discussed strategies to save the house, and create a way for the present owner to donate the house to the VFH. To preserve the house at its present location will mean a purchase price of around $700,000. To move the house will mean $50,000 + building a $200,000 foundation later. What is cheaper?
The owner has not been willing to sell, so trying to save the house from demolition and move it seems the best idea. There is a proposed park that will commemorate the Japanese Canadian community at Selkirk and 72nd Ave.
To avoid the demolition of the house, we have planned to go to City Council to ask for a stay of demolition, due to the Heritage quality of the house. Initially, that would have been Oct 20 – but the demolition application has not been submitted yet.
But yesterday, the owner may have had a change of heart… Gerry McGeough, a senior planner for the City of Vancouver, may have brokered a deal where the owner will delay demolition for 120 days, allowing us to raise funds to purchase the house.
This is great news. The house may not be destroyed yet… and it gives us time to raise monies.
Because of these latest developments, Joy will not be interviewed for CBC Radio Early Edition on Thursday morning. CBC wants to wait and see what happens next!