Delta council last week gave final rezoning approval for a new townhouse complex in Ladner.
The application at 4829 48th Ave. will see the construction of a six-unit townhouse development comprising two, three-storey buildings, with each dwelling having three bedrooms.
Three of the townhouse units would front directly onto 48 Avenue and the other three will be accessed via an internal driveway.
The site previously contained the historic Wilson Residence, which was demolished by the owner in late 2019.
Two years earlier, the Heritage Advisory Commission reluctantly gave the green light for the owner to demolish the structure, provided a number of conditions were met including advertising the building for sale for the sum of one dollar.
The owner, Amman Dhaliwal, purchased the rental home from a relative a couple of years prior and informed the commission the house had extensive deterioration.
A third-party assessment also concluded the house could not be reasonably rehabilitated.
The commission elected not to impose a temporary 60-day freeze, but expressed concern how the property had not been maintained, nor had there been any consideration to preserving the heritage structure.
A civic report at the time noted Delta’s updated heritage strategy and its associated initiatives would help avoid such future neglect, as a new bylaw would be a tool to require heritage buildings within heritage conservation areas to be maintained and in good repair.
The Wilson Residence, which was on Delta’s Urban Heritage Inventory, was constructed in 1904 for Herbert Lyman and Susan Alice Wilson, who lived there until Lyman’s death in 1942.
The house had of variety of renters and owners since that time.
When it was evaluated from the exterior in 2000, the house appeared in good condition with no signs of structural deterioration.
However, it had a number of major problems by the time it was torn down.
