I got a call from Bobbi Spark yesterday. Bobbi is a former Hospice boss and runs a research and reporting company in Abbotsford.
The Southlands Community Association hired her to look at the issues flying around Casa Mia, the former Reifel-owned mansion on South West Marine Drive.
These days the Reifel’s are best known as the name behind the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Ladner, but at one time the family owned four breweries and two distilleries and made a fortune in rum running during US prohibition. Some of these proceeds were invested back into real estate: the family homes of Casa Mia (1920 South West Marine Drive), Rio Vista (2170 South West Marine Drive) the hunting lodge in Ladner, now headquarters for the Canadian Wildlife Service, a Langley farm, and the Commodore Ballroom.
Casa Mia is a stunning mansion. Features include nine fireplaces, 10 bathrooms, a sauna, hand-painted murals in the playroom, and a full-size art-deco ballroom in the basement.
Owners include Ross Maclean a high profile psychiatrist and Nelson Skalbania. Over the years the price tag has lurched between $4 and $20 million.
About three years ago Maureen McIntosh and Lynn Aarvold of the Care Group paid $10 million for the mansion. The Care Group operates six extended care facilities in BC. They want to operate a 100-bed facility at Casa Mia. Residents want no more than 50.
Residents say the proposed additions overshadow the historical nature of the building, and would set a precedent for development that would run roughshod over the heritage and monied character of the neighbourhood (my words).
These residents who have deep pockets and lots of clout, say that they aren’t opposed to converting Casa Mia into a small scale care facility for seniors, just the “aggressive” (their word) rezoning application.
Bobbi’s call made me think of some of the larger issues that affect all municipalities as population increases and we look for affordable housing solutions that don’t involve replacing fine old houses with mega mansions, skyscrapers or parking lots.
Here in Lynn Valley, we’re trying to stop developers from plonking 20-plus storey high-rises into what’s essentially a village. Basically we want Whistler, developers want Metrotown.
“Development is coming one way or another,” says Bobbi. “You will either be driven by it or you can ride the beast and get involved and make suggestions and be an organized community with a constructive voice.”
Sensible advice, but I wonder if that’s even possible in a province where half the electorate can’t be bothered to vote.
So whether it’s threat of sagging property values or heritage conservation that’s driving Southlands, at least they’re out there doing something, and so far the residents are in the driving seat. The city rejected the Care Group’s latest proposal and sent Stuart Howard Architects back to the drawing board.
Personally, I think a senior’s facility that preserves Casa Mia is a lot more palatable than other options and hopefully they can reach an acceptable compromise.
As Bobbi says you can’t stop change, but you can manage it.
“They need to get a handle on this and not just let some developers and some city planners downtown make all the decisions for their community but they have to accept that there are going to be changes and that’s the way of the world.”
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5 comments on “From Casa Mia to Lynn Valley: Development is coming”
Some things are better left as is.
I agree that would be the best solution, but there aren’t that many people who can afford $10 million + for a single family home, so some kind of density might make sense.
I don’t think building a care facility would be objectionable at all if the original house could be preserved, but the plan as displayed in the model looks awful. The new addition looks like an awkward eyesore grafted onto the side of the mansion, and the boxy architectural style looks jarring next to the graceful Spanish style of the home . Hopefully they can come up with something more visually appealing – perhaps with the new addition hidden behind the house.
If there are any plans to develop the North Shore with highrises and more density there HAS to be some better transportation options for getting on and off the North Shore…before they start building.
[…] cottages in Vancouver designed by architect Ross Lort in the early 1940s. Lort also designed Casa Mia for the Reifel family on Southwest Marine Drive. The others are on King Edward in Vancouver and on […]