Heritage home comes full circle

Gail Cooper (left) and Kora Sevier have applied colours to the W.H. Falding house that accentuate the homes unique architectural features.

image credit: Grant Granger/NewsLeader

A facelift every 30 years or so is a good idea, especially at 123 years old.

The cute cottage that became the first home in New Westminster to receive heritage designation, and inspired formation of the New Westminster Heritage Preservation Society (NWHPS), now has a fresh look.

In the early 1980s, a group of residents decided to follow the example of fellow heritage enthusiasts in Victoria. They bought the gingerbread house at 431 Fourth St., built by B.C. Supreme Court registrar W.H. Falding in 1891. The plan was to restore it, resell it and reinvest the funds into buying and restoring others.

In 1985, it became the first home in the city to be designated as heritage. The list has since increased to 33, with plans in the works for more in the next year.

A huge amount of time, money and effort was put into making the cottage look beautiful by that original collection of idealists. But by the time they were done the real estate market had plunged and any dream of profit didnt pan out. The group eventually sold the home to Gail Cooper and her husband, put their hammers away and became heritage activists instead.

Those passionate preservationists eventually formed the New Westminster Heritage Foundation in 1992. One of its missions is to raise funds for an annual building grants program. Every year since 1997, thanks to its annual home tour, the society puts $10,000 toward the foundation which the city matches. The foundation doles out the $20,000 to homeowners to help them with their heritage restoration projects. In those 17 years, the foundation has given out 64 grants, including three for 2014.

The money is meant for those little historical extras that become quite costly. Theyre often projects that are lower priority in older homes.

If a person was going to spend some money and recreate some mouldings, that would be a nice thing to do but that wouldnt be as critical as someones house is leaking, said Ethel Field, a director of the heritage foundation who coordinates the grant giving.

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Heritage home comes full circle