REAL ESTATE
Century-old Kits corner store set for demolition by Carlito Pablo
On June 24, Vancouver city council approved a motion by councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung to pursue the revival of neighbourhood stores. In her motion, Kirby-Yung cited the importance of traditional corner stores in “creating social connection in neighbourhoods, as well as supporting daily needs”. Moreover, with more people working from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a “greater need for
neighbourhood amenities and local food infrastructure of coffee shops, restaurants, services, and shopping, including the need to access goods right in their own neighbourhood”. “Local corner grocer stores once filled this role in Vancouver neighbourhoods, providing a place where locals bought fresh milk, cheese, some staples, while also serving as a social gathering place for Community,” Kirby-Yung noted in her motion. g
B on Ton ON THE BLOCK
that it generates annual gross revenue of $600,000, with approximately $100,000 in net income.
A 1912 building on the corner of Kitsilano’s Yew Street and West 6th Avenue that later became a neighbourhood corner store is slated for redevelopment. Photo by City of Vancouver in 1978.
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orner stores have been disappearing in Vancouver over the years. And now another one is likely headed that way. That’s because a new housing project has been proposed at the northwest corner of Yew Street and West 6th Avenue in Kitsilano. The site is home to a 1912 building with residential uses and a neighbourhood store that was once known as Helen’s Grocery. The Heritage Vancouver Society has written the City of Vancouver to express its disappointment over the impending loss of the early 20th-century structure. “Designed in 1912 by noted architect W. F. Gardiner, its loss will further erode Kitsilano’s ever-increasing loss of both its built and social character,” the group wrote on September 24. Design Work Group has applied to the
city for a development permit to build a two-storey, two-family dwelling at 2137 Yew Street. In its letter, the Heritage Vancouver Society recalled that the 1912 building was designed for Henry Douglas King and constructed by H. D. Crawford for $5,600. “We also note that the set-back structure attached to the north of the main building may be the original residential frame dwelling, now covered in vinyl siding, dating from its construction in April 1907,” the group wrote. The society stated that the proposed replacement “doesn’t address the loss of the commercial space which is still in use serving the neighbourhood as a corner store”. In addition, the group noted the “lack of street engagement and activation, and absence of community integration, all of which helps in part to define Kitsilano’s neighbourhood character”.
A bakery and tearoom that is a popular Kitsilano fixture has been put up for sale.
d NOTTE’S BON TON Pastry & Confectionery, a well-known Vancouver bakeshop, is for sale. Established in 1926, the business has been operating for almost a century. A listing by the Restaurant Business Broker agency pegs its price at $249,000. The sale includes the bakeshop and tearoom. The business is located in Kitsilano, at 3150 West Broadway. The listing discloses
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A 2016 account on the site creatorsvancouver.com states that the bakeshop was started by Oreste and Agnes Notte in Victoria. They moved to Vancouver in the 1930s, according to this report, spending decades at 874 Granville Street as one of the first tenants of the Commodore building. The bakery reportedly remained in the Notte family. Not all stories agree on the details, though. Another one, this on bakersjournal.com in 2017, recalled that Oreste Notte “initially emigrated from France to the United States as a teenager but didn’t like New York City and decided to try Canada”. An account by Montecristo Magazine, on the other hand, recalled that the founder was “born in Italy and trained to be a pastry chef throughout Europe”. g
OCTOBER 1 – 8 / 2020
by Carlito Pablo
S TONEHOUS E
TEAM R E A L E S TAT E A D V I S O R S
604 255 7575 EMAILUS@STONEHOUSETEAM.COM
Sutton West Coast Realty I 301-1508 W Broadway
THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
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