It’s hard not to sympathize with the locally based Oak Park Heritage Preservation Society and its efforts to save the crumbling Elkington heritage house on Maple Bay Road.
The two-storey Elkington House was built in 1895 by William Howard Elkington and the residence became the first house in North Cowichan to be given heritage designation in 2008.
But the grand old home has languished since then and it likely won’t be standing many more years before it finally falls to the ground unless something happens to prevent it.
Paul Gowland and other concerned citizens took the lead in just such a campaign in 2017 and proposed establishing a stewardship group that would be responsible for fundraising and the maintenance of the large heritage home, which is currently owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
You might think the NCC, as owners of the property, would be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the building, but the NCC, Canada’s leading national land conservation organization, has no mandate to put time or money into the house.
The NCC has indicated to the society that it will not permit any repairs to be done on the structure until ownership of the house and its three-acre lot is transferred to a new owner, but will only agree to transfer ownership to the province, a municipality, or a large and well established non-profit society.
The society looked for support for the idea from the Municipality of North Cowichan in 2017, and asked the municipality to consider negotiating a transfer of ownership of the property to North Cowichan, at no cost, as well as up to $25,000 to replace the structure’s failing roof and gutter systems.
North Cowichan said the municipality would be interested in taking over ownership of Elkington house, but only if all the money needed for repairs, which are expected to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, was in hand.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Gowland and the Oak Park Heritage Preservation Society continued efforts to save Elkington house and, since then, has managed to raise more than $350,000 in a grant it received from the Canadian Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program and is ready to spend the money on it.
But their efforts continue to be stymied.
Shawn Cator, North Cowichan’s director of operations, recently told the Cowichan Valley Citizen that, despite many discussions with the society on the issue, North Cowichan has not allocated funding in its financial plan for the necessary upgrades to the Elkington house or the ongoing maintenance of the facility.
“We have supported the society with this initiative by requesting the provincial government fund the project shortfall,” Cator said.
The NCC has not changed its position on the house either.
Spokeswoman Lesley Marian Neilson said the NCC had worked with the society and other agencies for many years to find a good outcome for the Elkington house.
“Preserving heritage houses takes significant resources and, although we have been working with our partners to identify feasible options, a long-term, sufficiently resourced option for transferring ownership of the house has not yet been identified,” she said.
It seems shocking to me that such a lovely 19th century home, which dates back to when the first Europeans settled in the region, could be allowed to fall to ruin.
Most communities I have lived in and visited over the years cherish their historical old buildings, and many of them have become tourist destinations.
Gowland acknowledged that, in addition to the more than $350,000 that the society has earmarked for the building’s restoration, an additional $500,000 may be needed to do a proper upgrade on the structure.
But he said if North Cowichan took over the building, the society could spend its $350,000 to get things going and raise the rest of the funds needed over time.
It sounds reasonable to me, but nobody’s biting and I’m not seeing the province riding in on a white horse to save the day.
Gowland said the society will have to decide soon on whether it will return the grant money provided for the restoration of Elkington house if the situation doesn’t change, and he’s encouraging people to contact North Cowichan’s mayor and council and urge them to assume ownership of the house.
I encourage people to do so.
To let such a beautiful historic building fall to pieces would be a disservice to everyone in the Cowichan Valley.