The city of Coquitlam is looking to save a 112-year-old farmhouse that once hosted community picnics and other large gatherings.
This week, council hinted the city wants to buy the home that used to belong to Maillardville pioneer Ralph Booth. The house, located at 1746 Brunette Ave., and an adjoining lot are currently owned by Rosaleen Morgan.
Coun. Craig Hodge, chair of the city's Maillardville Commercial and Cultural Revitalization Advisory Committee, said during Monday's council-in-committee he hopes the city can acquire the historical asset and turn the area into a half-acre public park that would also serve as a future trailhead to the BC Hydro corridor.
Hodge envisions Booth Farm being restored as a place "where the community can come together and have picnics like at the turn of the century," when Fraser Mills workers and their families congregated there.
Under the city's heritage inventory, which was revised in 2007, Booth Farm is considered one of eight "primary properties" in Maillardville with historical value. The other seven are:
1120 Brunette Ave. (Ryan House), built in 1908, owned by the city;
1120 Brunette Ave. (Mackin House), built in 1913, owned by the city;
1319 Brunette Ave. (Hamlin House), built in 1910, owned by Stephen Babrauskus;
1313 Cartier Ave., built in 1910, owned by Yueh Lee;
830 Laval Sq. (Notre Dam de Lourdes Church), built in 1938, owned by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver;
310 Marathon Crt. (Brehaut House), built in 1898 or 1909, owned by Robert Nelson, and Michael and Sandra Baker;
and 609 Rochester Ave., built in 1920, owned by Ann Jones.
Another six properties are classed as "secondary" - that is, meeting most criteria for architectural, historical and contextual merit - while a further 21 Maillardville buildings fall under the "supporting" list.
Carl Johannsen, Coquitlam's manager of community planning, said staff are using the inventory as a basis for a new heritage conservation and commemoration policy.
Under the draft Maillardville Neighbourhood Plan (MNP), which was presented at Monday's meeting, the city proposes to place heritage revitalization agreements on the eight properties, thus avoiding demolition.
Johannsen said the updated MNP will serve as a guide for "a new future for Coquitlam's oldest community," a traditionally French-Canadian enclave.
Besides heritage preservation, it also calls for adding 60% more residents to Maillardville over the next 20 years, revitalizing the "heart" at Lougheed Highway and Brunette Avenue, and adding public amenities and green spaces.
As well, the draft MNP calls for "heritage-inspired" designs. Johannsen said Maillardville's architecture, especially in the commercial core, is a mix of European and Quebecois, which is not reflective of the pioneers' construction that had simple lines with gable roofs on wood-framed homes. The draft MNP calls for a hybrid design approach that allows for both styles, Johannsen said.
An open house on the draft Maillardville Neighbourhood Plan will be held on Thursday, June 27 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Alderson elementary school (825 Gauthier St., Coquitlam). For more information, call the city's planning department at 604-927-3430 or email [email protected].
