Your old house is coming down, is yours next

It was a clear day yesterday, for a while anyway, before that familiar coastal haze rolled in. But looking out over the city, it's getting harder to recognize some of the older corners. The city issued five building permits on May 13, 2026, and two of them were for full demolitions.

First, there's a multiple conversion dwelling at 537 E 10TH AVENUE, slated for deconstruction according to permit #DB-2025-03683, with an estimated value of $50,000. Not far from there, a 1914 Single Detached House at 572 W 22ND AVENUE is also coming down to grade, listed under permit #DB-2026-00822, valued at $40,000. These aren't just numbers; these are homes that have stood for decades, often more than a century, in neighbourhoods that used to tell a very different story of Vancouver. When those old houses disappear, a piece of the city's memory goes with them, and it makes you wonder what’s next for those plots of land.

Beautiful out here. Complicated in here. That's the coast.

You know, the Morning Wire crew talks about these shifting cityscapes every day. Catch the conversation live at mornings.live.