The home of one of the first Burnaby city councillors is set to be demolished and turned into parkland at Deer Lake.
Council unanimously voted to demolish the 99-year-old house at a meeting July 8.
The home at 6570 Deer Lake Ave. was home to early settlers Louis and Annie Hill who built the cottage in 1925 after they retired from fruit farming, according to a staff report.
Louis Hill was elected to Burnaby’s first municipal council in 1892.
The home as it stands is currently in “poor condition.”
Photos of the existing conditions in a 2023 report show water damage and non-original millwork and metalwork.
The photos also show the detritus of a more recent history, such as mannequins wearing jack-o’-lantern heads and an abandoned drum set.
The demolition is estimated to cost about $583,000.
Emmaline Hill, director of cultural services (and no relation to the Burnaby Hill family), said the city likely already collected remaining artefacts and moved them to the Burnaby Village Museum when the it took ownership of the building in 2006.
“But certainly, we will ensure that we’re looking for those opportunities wherever possible,” she said.
She said documentation and archival information about the Hill family and their residence will be held by the museum and made publicly available on the Heritage Burnaby website.
The staff report said the “relatively modest house does not include any outstanding architectural features,” and noted the historical significance is the home’s relationship to the Hill family.
Staff had previously discussed the relocation of the property but found it was not a good candidate; it also considered upgrading the residence to offices or program use, but that would have cost between $1.46 million and $1.65 million, according to staff estimates.
Before the demolition, a consultant will prepare an “as-found report” which includes full documentation and photos of the residence.
The city plans to create an interpretive plaque or sign to commemorate the site’s history.
Coun. Richard Lee suggested taking images, videos or 3D video to document the architectural features of the building and link to them with a QR code on the commemorative plaque.
Mayor Mike Hurley noted the Tsleil-Waututh Nation has been contacted and the city is taking all necessary steps through Indigenous relations that any artefacts found on the property will be looked after properly.
