ROTHENBURGER: City Gardens housing project presents a Hobson’s Choice

On the other hand, there are all those old houses, most built more than a hundred years ago. A walkabout in the neighbourhood reveals a mixture of architectural styles. Most of the homes, if not all, have seen much better days.

As Kelson Group president Jason Fawcett told me, they’re run down and have asbestos and other challenges. As I told him, any heritage house can be restored. He said he understands the sensitivity around heritage houses — he used to live in one himself.

Nobody expects the Kelson Group to give up on its plans for the sake of old houses. Yet, they represent a big slice of Kamloops history. Two of the houses are on the City’s heritage list.

One was built in 1912 by Thomas Bulman, a rancher whose name is well-known to local history buffs. He ranched around Stump Lake in the 1880s while his brother Joseph ran the Circle J and what is now the Willow Ranch. (I have an old copy of the book Kamloops Cattlemen by Alex Bulman, Joe’s son, on my shelves.)

Tom Bulman later served on Kamloops council after the town was incorporated in 1893. His two-story house on Battle Street is a beautiful example of early Kamloops residential architecture, featuring leaded glass and a turret, both prominent in many past and surviving houses built by well-to-do citizens.

An inventory of local historic buildings describes it as “a large, solid house built for a prosperous citizen.”

Next door to it is a house built two years later by another alderman and equally well-known citizen, James Gill. He and his partner W.H. Johnston were prolific home builders. Two of their beautiful brick houses were demolished to make way for the Sandman Signature Inn on Lorne Street.

The Battle Street house has been extensively altered but still has significant heritage value. Think of the collective history held within the walls of all the houses on that entire square block. But heritage buildings will always lose out to progress. That’s been the record in Kamloops.

Let’s be clear, though. The Fawcett family and the Kelson Group aren’t out-of-town corporate raiders looking to pillage the community for a quick buck. Their record of generous financial support for a wide range of community causes is second to none. A breast health clinic at the hospital, an animal rehab centre at the wildlife park, numerous sponsorships of local groups and a $10-million pledge to the performing arts centre are among them.

That commitment to community is likely why the company is asking for public input on its City Gardens proposal — as the project is called — in order to craft it into something the community can rally behind. It’s a laudable move. So I’ve been thinking this over since my conversation with Jason Fawcett and here are my ideas.

There are any number of examples elsewhere in which heritage neighbourhoods are being brought back to life through thoughtful restoration. My vision for that big piece of land would be to restore most of those old houses to their former glory and sell them for $600,000 to $1 million depending on the house, and make a respectable profit doing it.

Single-family homes, especially heritage homes, should continue to play a role in neighbourhoods close to the core. They keep us physically connected to our history, retain the character of the downtown and are a tourism attractor to boot. Compare the visual effect of that with the building-block architectural renditions presented in the proposal (though we all understand that things often change by the time the final project is approved).

But it’s not my money, and I know that’s not going to happen. So, here are a couple of things that could be made to happen if the Fawcetts see their way clear. For starters, save the two houses I mentioned and the substantial one next door to them.

It would probably mean erasing one of the planned rental low-rises but it would be a pretty good compromise. Either keep them as single-family residences or turn them into community and maybe retail centres for the complex. Move them if you must.

Second, inventory the hell out of every one of those 20 houses before demolition starts. Hire heritage professionals to detail every aspect of them in photos and videos, including drone shots of the neighbourhood.

And, study and put on record a detailed history of each house.

Why? To at least capture a sense of that piece of local history so that years from now researchers and anyone else with an interest can access it and understand what Kamloops once looked like.

Finally, of course, save everything possible from the houses. Woodwork, stair railings, plumbing fixtures, bricks, shelving, porch posts, whatever can be re-purposed either for the complex itself or in other restorations.

The Kamloops Heritage Society has been looking for a professional heritage salvager, and Kelson Group is open to that. It’s all a Hobson’s Choice, but it’s something.

The march of high-density modern housing over legacy housing in the core will, no doubt, continue until heritage remnants are restricted to east of Second Avenue. That’s the reality.

City Gardens will be a nice place to live, with green spaces, gathering places and even a dog run.

At the least, though, we should think creatively about each and every heritage home we tear down. The Kelson Group appears willing to listen to ideas on that.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.

by Mel Rothenburger

ROTHENBURGER: City Gardens housing project presents a Hobson’s Choice

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