$16M will transform Shaughnessy Mansion


Wednesday, October 29th, 2003

Ashley Ford
Province

An architect’s model shows the changes to be made to Shaughnessy Mansions

Shaughnessy Mansions, a rare example of early Vancouver apartment construction in the heart of South Granville will survive for another century providing accommodation for city residents.

The four-storey brick, heritage building at Granville and 15th was built in 1911. Current owner Jameson Development Corp. will maintain the original facade and spend $16 million transforming the building into 36-apartments, ranging from 547 square feet to 1,584 square feet penthouses.

The original ground floor space that has housed a variety of small enterprises over nine decades will also be retained as will the building’s original tile name embedded in the sidewalk.

It was one of the earliest purpose-built rental apartment buildings in the city with two-bedroom units.

Prices will range from $252,900 to $600,000 plus.

The distinctive building is one of the last examples of early commercial construction in the area.

Says Bob Rennie, of Rennie Marketing Systems: “There are very few buildings like this in the city.”

The developers started out 18 months ago with the intent of preserving an important piece of the history of Granville Street and, working with the community, have achieved that aim, Rennie said.

The design, by Walter Francl Architects Inc., will maintain the original external brick walls and match them with new brick where needed to keep the original look. There will also be an a second floor interior courtyard with Japanese pond. The third and fourth floors will have unique hanging walkways.

The courtyard is covered by a glass ceiling allowing huge amounts of natural light to flood in. Every unit will face both outward and also have window views onto the inner courtyard.

All 10-rooftop penthouses have their own individual roof gardens accessible from within each unit.

The original nine-foot ceilings will also be retained. Hardwood floors will be standard throughout the units with high quality fixtures and appliances.

Construction will start early next year and with completion in Spring 2005.

© Copyright  2003 The Province

 



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