An Island couple have come to the rescue of a DND heritage home previously slated for the scrapyard.
The property, located at 316 Anson St. near Macaulay Point, is the former home of John Jardine, EsquimaltB次元官网网址檚 representative in the Provincial Assembly from 1907 to 1912.
The heritage committee for the Township of Esquimalt cried foul in September when Parks Canada said the building didnB次元官网网址檛 qualify for heritage protection and it was placed on DNDB次元官网网址檚 surplus inventory list.
But early Monday morning, the three-storey wood-framed structure was loaded onto a barge and towed to a half-acre lot between Buckley Bay and Union Bay.
The operation is nothing new for buyers Ben and Jen Ford.
The couple have replanted six heritage houses along the east coast of Vancouver Island since 2006, including their current home in Union Bay, which originated in VancouverB次元官网网址檚 Dunbar neighbourhood.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e pretty unique in what we do,B次元官网网址� Ben said. B次元官网网址淵ears later, you look back and realize itB次元官网网址檚 very different than what most other people call a profession.B次元官网网址�
A key factor in moving the home was in purchasing a lot close to the water, he added.
Because of the buildingB次元官网网址檚 height, B.C. Hydro crews were on hand Friday to remove electrical obstacles as house movers Nickel Brothers wheeled the structure toward the shoreline at Macaulay Point.
B次元官网网址淭he DND was wanting to remove the house one way or another, so we did about two months of work in about a week and a half,B次元官网网址� Ford said.
Biological and geotechnical surveys had to be completed on a creek bed running through the Buckley Bay property, and the couple were responsible for readying the interior of the house for the move.
Jack Bates, a military heritage advocate who fought to save the building, said heB次元官网网址檚 glad the Fords came forward with a compromise.
B次元官网网址淚f it canB次元官网网址檛 stay on site with some form of enterprise to make it pay for itself ... at least itB次元官网网址檚 being relocated,B次元官网网址� he said.
The home features first-cut pine and fir flooring, a split staircase and four original fireplaces.
It was most recently used as a child-care facility for DND staff, according to federal documents.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a win-win for everybody,B次元官网网址� Ford said.
B次元官网网址淭he DND gets the house out of there in a politically correct manner, the Hallmark Society is happy it wasnB次元官网网址檛 destroyed and weB次元官网网址檝e got an amazing project to work on.B次元官网网址�
dpalmer@vicnews.com
