Public to have say on Casa Mia transformation

The new owners of one of Vancouver's most storied character homes, Casa Mia, are set to take their plans for the property to a public hearing March 13.

Maureen McIntosh and Lynn Aarvold of The Care Group bought the property at 1920 Southwest Marine Dr. for $10 million in 2010 and now want the property rezoned so they can build a 62-bed, two-storey long-term care wing onto the mansion, according to documents filed with the city.

The proposed plans, drawn up by Stuart Howard Architects, would see the heritage mansion preserved, but converted for care, dining, lounge and recreational use. A LEED Gold Certified facility - complete with basement, 16 spaces of underground parking and three loading bays - would be built adjacent and connected to the mansion, extending toward the northern edge of the property.

The Spanish Revival mansion, built in 1932 by beer baron and supposed rum-runner George C. Reifel, is painted with as much colourful myth and history as the man himself.

It was at the start of the Depression that Reifel built the eight-bedroom, eight-bathroom 20,000-square-foot mansion, according to a heritage conservation plan for Casa Mia by Donald Luxton and Associates. He paid for Casa Mia in cash, according to the plan, and the building's opulence hardly reflected the dire times.

It did, however, reflect Hollywood's obsession with "romantic and swashbuckling dramas" and an era when pricey homes were expected to reflect an identifiable historical style, according to the plan. In the case of Casa Mia, that style was Spanish Revival, as seen in its cement stucco siding, terra cotta roof tiles and wrought iron gate.

Inside, there is a ballroom in the basement where jazz legends played when they weren't performing at other Reifel-built venues such as the Commodore Block or the Vogue and Studio theatres.

The upstairs playroom in a thirdfloor tower was decorated by Disney artists in 1938 with scenes from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

There is a billiards room, a lounge, a curved grand staircase, a sunroom with views of the Fraser River, and a backyard pool. There are fireplaces, a library, and a basement vault with a hidden drop chute for valuables.

What there is not, however, is an oftrumoured secret tunnel built between Casa Mia and nearby Rio Vista at 2170 Southwest Marine Dr., where the family supposedly stored U.S.-bound booze. Jane Reifel, one of George Reifel's three children, told The Sun in 2007 that story is a myth.

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Public to have say on Casa Mia transformation