244 East 5th Street, North Vancouver

KINGS WALK

Kings Walk, a 17-unit townhouse development located in the 200 block of East 5th St in North Vancouver, features the beautifully restored 1911 King Residence as the show piece of this development.

Under a Heritage Revitalization Agreement (HRA) with the City of North Vancouver, the developer, Tien Sher Homes, was given a density bonus on the three-lot site in exchange for the legal protection and restoration of the heritage house. The density bonus excluded the square footage of the heritage house from the total floor space ratio allowed on the site. This allowed the developer to add two units to the development which were created by converting the heritage house into two units.

Originally, three homes sat on the lots at 244, 246/248 and 252 East 5th St. 244 and 246 E 5th St were both A-listed heritage homes on the City’s Heritage Register and 252 East 5th St was a charming old-timer bungalow. It was decided that since the heritage home at 246 E 5th St had been converted into a duplex and most of its heritage features were gone, the King Residence would be the better heritage house to restore for inclusion as part of the development.  

However, instead of tearing the other two houses down, the developer decided to offer them for free to a person who was prepared to move them to a new location. After almost a hundred people expressed interest, the houses were given to a young woman who moved the homes to Port Hammond in Maple Ridge- an area rich in history and full of character. Nickel Brothers expertly handled the move taking the houses down St Georges to the foot of Esplanade where they were barged to their new location.

Construction began on Kings Walk in 2016. The townhouses were completed in 2018 and the heritage house was completed in 2019. The townhouses have a modern, contemporary design allowing the Kings Residence to truly stand out as beautifully restored heritage house. This project was a win-win for the community as it provided more affordable multi-family units and legally protected a heritage home making for a more interesting and unique development.