This 110-year-old Deep Cove store is stuck in a bureaucratic time warp

While both business partners says they respect the process behind renovating a heritage property, they had no idea it would take them nearly two years just to open a store that has high historical and community value.

By Gagandeep Ghuman

“When are you opening the store?” It’s a question that Jessica Jobst-Smith is used to hearing in Deep Cove. “I drive down the street and people know me here and I get this question all the time, and I’m like soon, soon because I don’t when. So, I have to say, we are working on it,” says Jessica.

It’s been well over a year since that question has gone unanswered for Jessica Jobst-Smith and her business partner, Caroline James, who bought the historic but dilapidated Deep Cove General Store almost two years ago. They were hoping to open this summer but have been facing unexpected delays as their application slowly moves through the bureaucratic maze of the District of North Vancouver.

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They have launched a petition that has over 1000 signatures from the community and beyond. Recently, they met Mayor Richard Walton and explained to him the scope and nature of the project and made him aware of the delays. The delay is discouraging and has a financial cost that adds to the frustration.

“It’s just gutting to know we won’t be open for the public and we won’t be able to provide to so many people, especially the locals who are itching to have this open. And it’s really frustrating to know we won’t be able to open this summer knowing the kind of traffic this area gets,” James said.

While both business partners says they respect the process behind renovating a heritage property, they had no idea it would take them nearly two years just to open a store that has high historical and community value.

“It’s slow, everything seems to be taking an awful lot of time with heritage, When we think it will be a week, it ends up being two three weeks to a month, and that is anything from a drawing changes to application forms, to feedback from certain staff. Everything is taking longer and I didn’t think we would have to wait this long. We are losing money every day we are not open. We have a budget in place and we need to build this soon, especially when you see how busy this place is in the summer,” James said.

Both partners acknowledge they have had no experience in property development, but would really like the district to expedite the process given the community interest in the project. When they enquired about the delay at the city hall, they were told there were staffing challenges and the staff were doing the best they could.

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After some advocacy, their application was moved from preliminary to a detailed application stage. Still, it looks like they would have to wait until the summer of 2019 although even that can’t be said for sure.

“There are no exact answers, they can’t say when it will happen, and it’s all a bit of grey area. They have said they understand the importance of this heritage building, and are doing the best they can. We were thinking would be refurbished and rebuilt in a year and half but that hasn’t happened. I’d like to have it open by 2019, and that is fingers crossed. I’d like it sooner, but I’m not even sure we will have a building permit by the end of the year,” James said.

The store is 110-years-old and was converted into a corner store in the 1920s. It and has done quite well serving the needs of the local community, but it’s a visual eye sore now and very opposite of a tourist attraction.

“It’s not good advertising for Deep Cove, it’s very, very unattractive, and every day we wait, every week we wait, this building is just getting worse and worse. Everything is just falling apart and we plan to make this a great place for us to serve the community,” she said.

Both Caroline and Jessica say they understand there is a process involved and they don’t want to comment on the timing of other development applications but would like the district to expedite their application, considering the need, community support and the aesthetics of having a revived historical building in a place that is brimming with tourists in the summer.

“It’s nice to have that feel of heritage, not just tear down and build a new building. Heritage is important and as two local entrepreneurs, we would like the district to help us in the process of bringing something visually striking to the community as well as fulfill a community need,” Jessica Jobst-Smith said.