One of the older buildings in Ladner Village has had a makeover as the area hovers on the brink of major change.
The old second-hand store on Elliott Street, recently home to West Coast Seeds, has lost its tired green exterior and now has bright, brand-new siding, windows and lots of work done to keep it going for years.
The building used to be known as Jordan’s Livery Stable, then Magee’s Second-Hand Store and is now vacant with a for-lease sign.
Mitchell Winter, of Mitchell Winter Contracting, said the project involved lots of demolition and rot repair, followed by three new windows and a door, gutter work and new siding on the wall facing the street making it watertight.
The siding is called cedar drop siding, stained solid yellow, and fits with the heritage of the building.
“Owner Ed Magee wanted to keep it looking the same, like the last time the exterior was fixed. We installed new cedar drop siding pre-stained by Ed himself,” said Winter on Facebook.
Magee was on site often while the restoration took place, Winter said.
“There’s a lot of history behind this,” he said.
Winter is a lifelong resident of Ladner and said many buildings in the village have been restored at some point.
“The main thing is there’s not many of them left. Look what’s happening right?” he said.
“Buildings like that are just slowly going to go, I guarantee you,” he said, adding that some buildings are too decrepit to restore.
It was cool to be part of restoring a part of Ladner heritage, he added.
The realtor for the property applied three months ago for a temporary use permit that will allow a broader use of retail outlets in the building.
Magee, 82, said he doesn’t know when he’ll hear from the city but said there’s a long list of interested tenants.
The building is located across from the new six-storey condo building planned for the old Dunbar Lumber site.
Magee says he’s happy with that project.
“For an oldtimer, I guess I’m one of the few that is. Because I’ve always been under the impression, ever since we built the tunnel, Delta is going to grow,” he said. “You’d never build a tunnel if you didn’t want it to grow.”
One can’t say a town can’t grow and if small businesses are to survive, people have to move here, he said, noting a list of lots no longer used for light industry.
Why is Delta not changing and, “Just getting on with it?” he asked.
He points out the restoration project included a new heat pump and an accessible door.
The cost to install the siding exceeded the cost of the building when his dad bought it in 1947.
“That’s a good thought,” he said.
His dad had seven second hand stores around Metro Vancouver and over the years, about half a dozen in Ladner Village.
The building dates from around the 1910s and Magee expects it to last a long time.
“It’s been sticking around,” he said, noting the walls are original. “I think it’s looking good.”
But he still has work to do, such as painting the trim around doors and windows and under the eaves.
“I’ve got to paint that,” he said when an unfinished window frame was pointed out. “I’m going as fast I can.”
