Arbutus Corridor Souvenirs

As the debate about the city’s possible purchase of the Arbutus corridor is ongoing, I realized there might be little time left to walk or bike along the trail, a trip that was on my Vancouver ‘to do’ list for a few years.

Though we still haven’t managed the bike trip, my family and I went for a nice walk along three routes of the corridor a few weeks ago. Some parts of the walk are probably less familiar to the general audience than the popular route along 6th Avenue between Fir and Maple streets. In the following photo essay, you’ll find some impressions of the trip. Please note the trip was taken spontaneously and most photos taken by my iPhone.

St. John Hospice opens at UBC

St. John Hospice

Hundreds of people celebrated the opening of St. John Hospice, a new 14-bed facility located on the University of British Columbia campus on Friday.

The first community hospice on Vancouver’s West Side was conceived and built by the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller,

This is it for Varsity Ridge Bowl

The Varsity Ridge corner at Arbutus and West 15th Ave., photographed in November 2012 by Katja De Bock

The iconic bowling alley on Arbutus Street and West 15^th Ave. in Kitsilano, Vancouver is closing forever tonight. The entire block will be replaced by condos, in spite of neighbourhood protests. 

Artists-in-residence salon series brings cohousing idea to Dunbar-Southlands

Keiko Honda is a community builder in Dunbar-Southlands and Kerrisdale.

I met Keiko Honda in the shower room of Kerrisdale pool last year. The elegant young woman was supervising her daughter Maya, who just finished swimming lessons. I, on the other hand, was undressed and wet, showering off the chlorine, after having enjoyed half an hour of lapses in the pool. Our eyes met, but we only smiled at each other.

Our shower meetings went on for several months, but I never had the opportunity to speak to her. Keiko and Maya had already left the dressing room long before my kids and I were ready.

Michael Kluckner hits nostalgia nerve at Marpole Historical Society

Artist and author Michael Kluckner explains the architectural changes in old and new Vancouver in a presentation for the Marpole Historical Society on March 9, 2013.

A plethora of collective “ahs” filled St. Augustine’s Parish Hall last Saturday, when Michael Kluckner, an expert on Vancouver history, showed slides of the former White Spot on Granville and 67^th Ave.

Most of the nearly 100 seniors who attended Kluckner’s presentation about old and new South Vancouver, spent a big chunk of their spare time and money at one of the city’s top social centres of the era.

Marpole Historical Society presents Michael Kluckner’s view on Vancouver’s vanishing history

Whenever Michael Kluckner reads “opportunities for builders” on real estate listings, he knows it’s time to pack his watercolour set and document another Vancouver house that is about to vanish.

Rezoning is big business in Vancouver in and March, the city is particularly abuzz with information sessions and public hearings about architectural changes such as high rises, laneway houses and townhouse complexes.

Vancouver’s first children’s hospital, built 1921, at Hudson Str. and 67th Ave. in Marpole. Painted in 1989 by Michael Kluckner for the book Vanishing Vancouver

“Laneway housing isn’t a bad idea, but you cannot call it affordable,” said author and artist Michael Kluckner, who wrote several books about Vancouver’s vanishing architecture, and the lifestyle that came with it.

Dunbar activists relieved about temporary halt to retirement home proposal

Dunbar activist Terry Hislop was relieved when he read Mayor Gregor Robertson’s email on his iPad today confirming city staff has denied a proposed six-storey retirement home on the 4600 block of Dunbar.

The proposal by Pacific Arbour Retirement Communities would have meant a rezoning of the block between 30^th and 31^st avenues. The complex would have included 111 units on six storeys.

This YouTube video posted by Dunbar Re-Vision shows what the building would look like. 

Dunbar Re-Vision, a group of Dunbar neighbours who had been fighting the proposal since October of 2012, posted the mayor’s email in its entirety on their website on Wednesday.

Pacific Spirit Park society to discuss Musqueam Block F development

The Pacific Spirit Park society will discuss suggestions for the owners and developers of the contested Block F on the University Endowment Lands on Wednesday.

Block F at University Blvd.

The 22-acres parcel known as Block F was returned to Musqueam in 2008 as part of a larger agreement between the Musqueam Band and the Province of British Columbia. The band decided to develop the parcel, which borders on Acadia Road and University Boulevard. It hired the planning company Colliers International, and has held two open houses so far. All three site planning options presented on Feb. 6 contained a dense neighbourhood with townhouses, high rises, retail and a 120-bed hotel. The plans include three acres of mature conifer trees and wetlands.

Few people come to Musqueam Block F development open house

Musqueam spokesman Wade Grant at the open house on Feb. 6, 2013

When I visited the open house of the “Block F” development at the University Golf Club between 6 and 7 p.m. today, only a few dozen people faced the rain and came out to look at the new proposals on display.

Great expectations for Pearson Dogwood expansion plans

Patricia McClarty has lived in Marpole’s Pearson Centre since two years.

Patricia McClarty’s left hand carefully manoeuvred her wheelchair through the crowd, as she distributed information cards to other visitors of the Pearson Dogwood open house in Marpole on Saturday.

McClarty is one of dozens of residents and neighbours who showed up on Saturday, Feb. 2 to have a closer look at the proposals and to have their voices heard. The City of Vancouver and Vancouver Coastal Health started the public hearing process this week. The George Pearson Centre is a home for adults with a range of disabilities, and the neighbouring Dogwood Lodge houses seniors who require complex care. The plan is to demolish the existing buildings and create an entirely new complex on the block between Cambie and Heather streets and West 57^th till 59^th Ave.