The would-be buyer of West Vancouver’s historic Binning House is a subsidiary of Wall Financial Corporation, the company of prominent Lower Mainland real estate developer Peter Wall.
Court documents filed Thursday confirm rumours passed among heritage advocates who will be petitioning in B.C. Supreme Court to stop the sale on Monday afternoon.
The home, which belonged to artist and architect B.C. Binning and is considered the first example of West Coast modernism, has been in the hands of The Land Conservancy of B.C., a non-profit now in bankruptcy protection after racking up $7.5 million in debt.
TLC was looking into selling some of its 48 properties, when it was revealed last month that an anonymous private buyer had offered $1.6 million to TLC and the promise to restore the home to its former glory, though the Binning House hadn’t been considered for potential sale according to TLC manager John Shields.
In her will, Binning’s widow Jessie asked that the home be left in public or non-profit hands so it could be preserved as a place of history for public and scholarly access as it was during B.C. Binning’s lifetime.
The prospect of the sale, as it appears on paper, is “horrifying” in the words of Adele Weder, an architecture journalist who was a friend of Jessie Binning. The court report prepared by receivership firm Wolrige Mahon specifically addresses the public access issue.
“The monitor has reviewed the will, the provisions of the BHPS constitution, the legal notation on title and the National Historic Site of Canada designation, none of which mention or require public access to Binning House,” the report, states.
“It’s on the record now,” Weder said. “It’s not a fear. It’s a confirmation. Once it’s private, it’s really private.”
Weder and other heritage advocates argue that TLC does not have the right to sell the property as it was gifted to the non-profit by trustees of Binning’s estate. Weder compared sacrificing the Binning House for the good of TLC and its other properties to giving away a child to an orphanage for the good of the family.
Among the forces lining up to fight the sale is the District of West Vancouver. The district has already given the home heritage designation, meaning it can’t be demolished or altered without council’s consent, but there is nothing in place to preserve public access.
“The position we take as a local government is we really believe the home should remain in the public realm,” said Stephen Mikicich, the district’s manager of community planning.
“That was the original intent. We are expressing concern over that formally through the proceedings that are underway at the Supreme Court and our solicitor will be putting forward that position on Monday.”
