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Coquitlam homes to be saved in exchange for density

Two Heritage Revitalization Agreement applications before public hearing in Coquitlam next week
Heritage
An applicant is seeking a Heritage Revitalization Agreement for a property at 225 Begin St. in Coquitlam, one of two HRA proposals before a public hearing at Coquitlam city hall on Monday.

Two Coquitlam subdivision projects slated for a public hearing next Monday would preserve and update two heritage homes in Maillardville but also add more density to their streets.

In the first, the applicant is seeking a Heritage Revitalization Agreement to re-site and restore the Alsbury-Munday house at 907 Walls Ave., keeping it as a single-family home while adding a two-car garage with an 844-sq. ft. carriage house and further subdividing the property to add two residential lots, each with a single-family home and secondary suite.

There would also be a single garage straddling the shared lots' property line for two enclosed parking spaces for each property.

The Alsbury-Munday House was built in 1920 by James Alsbury and his wife Cora, who was part of the family of Mundays associated with Mundy Park, Mundy Street and Mundy Lake. It is the older of only two known existing Munday family residences and a staff report says it is a rare surviving example of a dwelling originally built on a acre family farmstead from the early 1900s.

If the Heritage Revitalization Agreement is approved, the house would be rehabilitated to reflect the Craftsman style common to the area, the property subdivided and a new bylaw would be passed to protect it as a heritage property.

Also before the public hearing will be a Heritage Revitalization Agreement application to restore the Marcellin residence, a 1930s home, at 225 Begin St., and create an additional residential lot for a new single-family home with a secondary suite. A bylaw, if approved, would also make the home a protected heritage property.

Built by Rene and Rachel Marcellin in 1932, the home represents the type of modest housing built during the Great Depression, according to a staff report, and the increased density would be offset by reduced massing on the new single family home and complimentary architecture.

The public hearing will be held Monday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. at Coquitlam city hall.