Casa Mia: Vancouver residents fight plan to turn historic mansion into care home

The Casa Mia mansion located at 1920 SW Marine Drive is the subject of a battle between its new owners and residents of the exclusive Southlands neighbourhood. The new owners of the historic Vancouver mansion wish to build a hospice for seniors on the site Local residents fear extra traffic and say it would change the character of the neighbourhood.
Photograph by: Kim STALLKNECHT, PNG

Residents in the upscale Southlands neighbourhood are upset over a plan to turn the historic Casa Mia mansion into a seniors' care facility, fearing it will further congest traffic and destroy the site’s heritage feel.

The Care Group, which operates six other care facilities in the Lower Mainland, wants to rezone the Spanish-style mansion from single family residential to commercial so they can build a 40,000 square foot, three-storey building in front of the existing structure.

Southlands resident David Grewal said neighbours, including seniors, aren’t opposed to having a care facility in the community. But they do take issue, he said, with construction of such a massive building on a heritage site and the expected spike in traffic it will bring.

“Building a 40,000 square foot structure on the front lawn, in our opinion, doesn’t do it any justice — it is an iconic building and it should be preserved,” said Grewal.

“[And] we should be looking at ways to relieve congestion along southwest Marine Drive, [not increase it].”

Southwest Marine is one of Vancouver’s heaviest traffic routes – frequently used by construction trucks — and Grewal said residents already complain of spillover into residential streets.

He said a petition and website have been launched in opposition of the project, which, if approved, would house some 88 residents and 25 support staff. The current mansion, built in 1932 for liquor baron George Reifel, would be used as a common area.

The Care Group, which purchased Casa Mia for an estimated $10 million, still has to submit its proposal to the City of Vancouver. Calls to Care Group owner Maureen McIntosh were not returned Monday.

Diane King of the Southwest Marine Drive Ratepayers Association agreed that the heavy traffic could prove a challenge for future senior residents, noting there is no sidewalk along that stretch.

“It is not a street you walk on, for sure,” she said “

Meantime, Grewal intends to continue handing out flyers, talking to city councillors and directing people to the online petition as part of ongoing efforts to stop the proposal. More information can be found at www.casamiahouse.com.

A recent open house hosted by the developers was well attended by residents opposed to the project, Grewal added.

“It’s not that we don’t want it in our community, it’s just not the right location for it,” he said. “Just down the street, there is high density zoning, and if a developer wanted to develop such a facility they should have purchased a property that was already zoned for that.”

colivier@theprovince.com

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