Burnaby discusses ways to preserve Walker Ave. church in Edmonds

The City of Burnaby’s Community Heritage Commission discussed the proposal to rezone the historic Edmonds Baptist Church site, also known as the Walker Avenue Church, during its meeting on Nov. 14. 

The church’s site was mentioned in a press release from the BC government on Sept. 12 as part of a project to build 1,200 new rental homes in Burnaby and Langley. However, the announcement met with backlash from the community, and several residents launched a petition to save the church. 

Burnaby resident Jonathan Reay, who launched the petition, wrote to the Heritage Commission asking the city to consider ways to save the church. The church also houses a small community space and childcare centre, and is a much-loved and used space in the community. The online petition on Change.org currently has 82 signatures and aims to reach 100 signatures. 

“A monumental project has been recently announced for Highgate, that aims to see a new 45 story [sic] residential tower erected on land presently occupied by an historic neighborhood church. The former Edmonds Baptist Church, a beautiful Arts and Crafts landmark built in 1912 and presently used as a gathering space and community hub, has somehow managed to retain nearly all of its original architectural integrity and features,” Reay wrote in his correspondence to the city. “I humbly request that all avenues of preservation be carefully considered. As much as I agree on the importance of building more affordable housing, it need not come at the expense of our built heritage.” 

According to the Heritage Burnaby website, the church was built in 1912 and was designed by architects J.P. Matheson and Son. It had an original capacity of 272 attendees. During the commission meeting, heritage planner Lisa Codd spoke about the church and the proposed ways to preserve the heritage building. Reay suggested in his letter that the city keep the original church building and allow the redevelopment of newer additions and the parking lot behind the church. 

Codd said there is an active rezoning application for 7135 Walker Ave. and 7244 Arcola St., an empty lot adjacent to the church. She added that the city cannot currently release any more information to the public about the details of the rezoning application. Codd said that the church site includes a place of worship and a community hub that provides many services to vulnerable community members. 

“Typically, in these processes, we work with the property owners to encourage them to retain the heritage resource. There are incentives available through heritage revitalization agreements, for example, which we’ve talked about tonight. And certainly in cases, like Seton Villa, we have seen projects where a heritage resource was retained, and social housing or other types of housing were constructed on the site,” Codd said. “So those things are possible, but they are negotiated with the applicant, and so further information around that development process will come forward to council in the future.”

Commission member Paddy Murphy said, “I can’t see a heritage committee saying tear the damn thing down. That’d be pretty egregious, wouldn’t it, but it does look like a beautiful building. I haven’t been in it, but I’m sure the community is going to be very anxious to keep it. So hopefully we will.”

Coun. Richard Lee, who is also a member of the commission, expressed support for the idea of preserving the building. 

“This is a beautiful sort of structure. Quite old, but it’s very usable. I’ve been there many times,” he said, noting that some of the community use functions could move to other places. “But preserving the structure, if possible, will give some kind of landmark to last many years in that corner, so I think this is worth preserving.” 

Commission member Helen Phillips also spoke in favour of preserving the church. 

“The fact that it is actually some kind of hub in the community, I think would mean that it’s even more important with the housing going up, there’s going to be greater density, and it will be needed even more than it is,” Phillips said. “It is really actively used; it’s not just a sanctuary that’s there for certain days of the week or just something beautiful. And as has been commented that it’s in very good shape.”

Codd also mentioned that the rezoning and the different suggestions for preservation will come to council for approval in the future, but she did not say when.

This piece was made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.

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