A building in Steveston from 1912, which has served in various capacities from a dressmaker’s shop to an appliance store, might be turned into a 10-room hotel with two storeys added to it.
The building at 3831 Moncton St. – at the corner of First Avenue – survived the 1918 fire that destroyed much of old Steveston.
Documents show it was owned by “Ikeda” in 1922 while other documents show it was used as a dressmaker’s shop where Lily Ikeda, sister of Teruhiko Ikeda, worked.
Teruhiko was expecting to be interned in 1942 at which time there was discussion about leases on his two properties. He was eventually interned to Picture Butte, Alta., close to Lethbridge.
The building was sold to the wife of a Steveston shopkeeper, Ethel Fisher for $1,275 in 1944 while Teruhiko was interned. Its assessed value at that time was $2,065 and its taxable value was $1,280.
Records from the Japanese Claims Commission, which took place in Lethbridge, Alta. in 1948, A.G. Virtue, who was representing Teruhiko, noted another store on Moncton Street, valued at $3,200, also sold for $1,275.
Teruhiko also owned a house on Chatham Street, which he bought in 1926 for $800. This sold in 1944 for $582.
Eric Law Architect has applied to the city to conserve the existing front of the building - which includes a false front - and to add two floors in order to build the hotel.
Because it’s a historical building, the architect has applied for a heritage revitalization agreement.
Its last iteration was as Budget Appliances and, before that, it was Ray’s Dry Goods.
Budget Appliances closed in January 2021.
