A North Vancouver home penned for demolition has been rescued for a new life on Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) land, where it will be repurposed into emergency transitional housing.
On Thursday morning the Nation was joined by Renewal Development in a moving ceremony that saw the lifting of the home from its old location in Edgemont village and the moving of it to its new, on the Nation’s X̱wemelch’stn (Capilano 5 reserve).
The Nation and the Vancouver-based development company will join forces to repurpose the home into a duplex that will be a “inviting and safe space” for members to stay in times of need, said elected council member Sxwíxwtn (Wilson Williams).
“We can breathe a little easier knowing that there is going to be emergency housing in place for those that are vulnerable, such as our single parents, or people who have been displaced through a fire in their home and they have nowhere to go,” said Williams.
The new home, especially when coupled with the Nation’s new 55-unit rental building Estítkw, is a step forward in bringing to life the Nation’s mission of returning its members back to reserve land. More than half of Squamish members currently live off the reserves, but, according to a census announced earlier this year, 83 per cent of those want to move home back to Squamish territory.
“Every time we are able to house people in our own village, we feel a little lighter,” said Williams.
With members returning who have never before lived on reserve land, there are opportunities for those who have never before been exposed to their culture to connect to their lineage and loved ones more directly, he added.
“We’re preparing to bring people home and welcome them in the right way. Bringing people home is going to be a huge evolution for our people to identify who they are and where they come from, because they’re able to be part of everything of who we are, and that’s our history, our teachings, our language, our culture.”
For development company Renewal, the move marks another home rescued, relocated and repurposed, and another sustainable step in preserving homes across the city.
“This is an incredibly well-built rancher which had been fully renovated about seven years ago, and it would have been a shame had this building been demolished and sent to the landfill,” said Glyn Lewis, Renewal Development’s CEO.
“This is a story we see far too often on the North Shore and across a lot of neighbourhoods across Metro Vancouver, which is this incredible demolition epidemic that we’re in the midst of.”
Every year, 2,700 homes are demolished to make space for higher density development, said Lewis, and of those 2,700 homes, around 700 are in “perfectly good” condition.
“It’s a travesty to see so many good homes being bulldozed and thrown into the landfill, especially when you know that there are so many communities that are in dire need of good affordable housing.”
Earlier this year, Renewal Development also led the rescue and move of the Nation’s Little Yellow Schoolhouse, from its longstanding home in Kitsilano to a new, permanent home close to the Chief Joe Mathias Centre in Xwmélch’sten.
Mina Kerr-Lazenby is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
