New location found for 120-year old Annandale Carriage House
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Victoria, BC
Monday, September 16, 2019
After a callout to the community, Victoria developer, Abstract Developments has identified a new home for the historic Annandale Carriage House at 1561 York Place. Presumed to be built in 1897, the Carriage House is widely recognized by the community for its historical value as a component of one of the most significant surviving historic properties in Oak Bay, Annandale.
In July, Abstract’s founder and CEO, Mike Miller announced his interest in relocating the carriage house off the property. Miller is planning to construct his family home on the York Place lot. The story was quickly picked up by local media, inviting strong interest from the community; several interested parties contacted Abstract to learn more about, or view the structure with interest in relocating it.
Late last week Abstract came to an agreement with Victoria resident, Murray Campbell, who will dismantle, relocate and reassemble the carriage house at his 13,000 sq. ft. property, located in a future Heritage Conservation Area (HCA) on Robert Street in Vic West. The Robert Street property already houses Campbell’s 1895-built designated heritage house; the street is also home to three other heritage designated homes. Campbell intends to restore and convert the carriage house to a garden suite, a plan which aligns with the City of Victoria’s goals to create new secondary suites across the city.
The structure will be carefully dismantled at the York Place property and moved to Vic West where the pieces will be restored, and the structure rebuilt. Campbell plans to retain the siding, windows, beams, shiplap and structural timbers of the carriage house. The architectural ornamentation will be replicated or restored to ensure it closely resembles its original form.
Roughly 120 years old, the carriage house has sat untouched for several decades. Miller purchased the lot in summer of 2016, before exploring different redevelopment options for the site working with Oak Bay Planning and Council. An early development proposal included an option for the Carriage House to be located to nearby Windsor Park, where it would be restored by the municipality to be used for storage at the park; however due to the costs associated, the plan was dismissed.
Campbell is eager and excited to begin the relocation process for the carriage house structure. “It’s like it was meant to be.” said Campbell of the opportunity to relocate and restore the house. “I had been looking for a suitable heritage building for my property for the past year – and had already been corresponding with Nickel Bros to see if they had any buildings that could be relocated to the property. When a friend and fellow heritage homeowner contacted me to say that former City of Victoria Councillor, and heritage advocate Pamela Madoff had brought the Annandale Carriage House to his attention, we immediately reached out to Abstract to learn more.” added Campbell.
Abstract’s Director of Development, Adam Cooper, welcomed the relocation plan for the Robert Street property. “We are thrilled to support the relocation of the Annandale Carriage House structure to Robert Street, working closely with Mr. Campbell.” said Cooper. “We knew when we started engaging interested parties in relocating this home that we wanted to keep the structure as close to the current location as possible. This plan allows the carriage house to remain within Greater Victoria, less than seven kilometres from the current location, in what could become a heritage conservation area. The fact that Campbell plans to not only restore the carriage house, preserving its heritage significance, but to establish it as a new rental suite within Victoria is a phenomenal outcome. We couldn’t have asked for a better plan.”
The original owner of the Annandale home where the Carriage House was originally established was Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper, Minister of Justice for the Dominion government, and son of Sir Charles Tupper, the Father of Confederation. During his career, the Tupper son was a physician, leading Conservative politician, and Canadian diplomat. During Tupper’s brief time living in the home, his father visited and dined at Annandale House.
Work to dismantle the Annandale Carriage House is expected to begin immediately.
