The District of West Vancouver may soon approve the construction of a new home so that a much, much older one may survive.
Council gave first reading Monday night to a bylaw that would give permanent protection to the 1927 Sutherland House at 1768 Inglewood Ave. in exchange for subdividing the lot and allowing a new single-family home to be built on the south side.
The home was built and lived in by James and Winifred Sutherland and is considered one of the earliest developments in the Hollyburn area.
“The Sutherland House is also valued for its evolution of design, as it progressed from a small cottage into a larger home. The original Craftsman style appearance of the residence gradually gave way to a more rustic esthetic, as half-timbering, log cabin siding and stone cladding was applied when the house was expanded. These natural building materials echo the surrounding verdant environment of the Lawson Creek watershed,” heritage consultant Donald Luxton wrote in his conservation plan for the home.
Preserving the home in its original state over the last 90 years would have taken tremendous dedication, Luxton added.
The new home facing the lane would be two storeys and would be accessed via a driveway on Inglewood that splits the original property into two. Together, the two homes would occupy 5950 square feet, excluding the basements.
Coun. Peter Lambur, an architect by trade, had early praise for the proposal.
“I’ve been following this project closely and to me it really is a great example of intelligent development, and sets the bar high for environmentally sensitive design in the way the project handles the retention of the existing house combined with the new architecture,” he said.
Residents will have their chance to speak up in favour or against the project at a public hearing on July 17.
