The city of Vancouver paid $55 million to buy the nine-kilometre stretch of land along the abandoned rail line known as the Arbutus corridor. It was originally part of a CP Rail line known as the Marpole Spur, which ran from False Creek to Port Coquitlam. The space will become a public greenway for cyclists and foot traffic, comparable to New York's High Line. This route began construction in 1901, stopped serving passengers in the 1950s and was last used in 2001 for Molson's freight. This client's corner lot residence is located adjacent to the corridor, and since foot traffic has increased dramatically, we erected a heritage-style brick enclosure to protect their privacy. Because the property was sloped, the walls had to be terraced. The project consisted of heritage-style brick mixed with raked recessed joints, custom concrete caps and an exposed concrete footing. The wall included custom-built curved sections, brass plaques, inset lighting, an inset mailbox, and custom cedar gates. The ground cover for the entryways and interior were also done in paving stones. This was an ambitious project with a high degree of satisfaction both for our masons and the client.
ARBUTUS GREENWAY HERITAGE BRICK ENCLOSURE
