Address:
Two Waters is a townhome development near the shores of Colwood's Esquimalt Lagoon waterfront on Victoria's Westshore.
The project's residences will feature townhomes in two, three and four-bedroom layouts.
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I'd live there in a heartbeat. Marko, get the paperwork ready :D
Does anybody have any updates on this? Has it sold? Who is the new purchaser?
An effort to protect a nearly century-old home on Esquimalt Lagoon moved forward Monday night, as Colwood council passed initial readings of a bylaw that would give heritage designation to the home.
Pendray House is part of a package of properties on the market for $8 million through a court-ordered sale, which includes the 8,400-square-foot house at 3221 Heatherbell Rd. and three vacant properties.
A staff report said municipal staff worked with owners of the Pacific Landing property, next door to Royal Roads University, over the past several years to achieve heritage designation for the home, without success.
Four condominium buildings were built on the site, owned by Heather Bell Land Corp., and more phases were envisioned, but the development stalled, leaving the project partially built out and in financial trouble.
“It is staff’s position that council should now consider adopting a heritage preservation bylaw to provide long-term legal protection of the Pendray House,” Iain Bourhill, Colwood’s director of community planning, said in a report to Colwood’s heritage commission.
History:
Colwood’s web page says that in 1881, Havenwood, an acreage bordering Esquimalt Lagoon, was purchased from the Crown.
The Belmont Tanning and Boot and Shot Manufacturing Company owned it for a time and also operated a sawmill and then a tannery from 1870 to 1920 on Cottonwood Creek, now Colwood Creek, in Hatley Park.
Herbert and Charlotte Pendray bought the property in the 1920s, building the current house and naming it Havenwood. Prominent figures in society, the couple often hosted special events at their home and opened the grounds to public tours.
A December 1937 story in the Daily Colonist introduced the couple’s green parrot Jimmy to readers. He reportedly trilled to well-known operas. Jimmy lived in a large cage in Havenwood’s breakfast room, one of the Pendrays’ many exotic birds.
They had “one of the most interesting collections of birds in the Pacific Northwest, the aviaries containing specimens from Australia, India, South America, the British Isles, Japan, China, Africa and the Southern States — altogether there are about 375 birds,” the Daily Colonist said.
More on Herbert here:
William Joseph Pendray, born in Cornwall, England in 1846, came to America when he was about 20. After searching for gold in California, he followed the trail to the Cariboo gold rush. He staked claims on Mosquito Creek and acquired a fortune in the Willow and Minnehaha Mines. He went back to Cornwall and invested in tin shares, and met Amelia Jane Carthew, born 1849. However, he also invested in South African gold mines and lost his money, so returned to BC to pursue opportunities in a developing territory. In Victoria in 1875 he acquired a bankrupt soap manufacturing business on Humboldt St with his uncle W.J. Jeffree, a prominent clothier. Amelia emigrated to Victoria in 1877: she sailed from Liverpool to New York, took the train overland to San Francisco, then a sailing vessel which took five days to reach Esquimalt Harbour. She was married the day after she arrived in the Jeffrees’ Fort St home. In January 1880, Robert McMicking connected the first telephone line in Victoria from Jeffree’s clothing store to Pendray’s soap factory, a distance of one-third mile.
The White Swan soap business prospered and in 1899 William bought theBC franchise of the Canada Paint Co, which had sold ready-mixed paint since 1893. About 1906 he sold the Humboldt land to the CPR, who built the Empress Hotel on the mud flats. The Pendrays moved to a new factory constructed by Moore & Whittington (1433 Vining St, Fernwood) on Laurel Point, close to their home. By 1913, when they sold the soap business to Lever Bros, their firm, British America Paint Co (Bapco), had 150 employees and did over $1,000,000 in business annually. Bapco paints, stains and varnishes were famous across western Canada until the 1970s, and for some years it was the largest paint manufacturer east of Toronto and north of San Francisco. William was killed instantly at the paint works as he was making his rounds one morning in 1913. A concrete-covered lead pipe fell from above and crushed his skull. He was 68.
The Pendrays had four sons, all of whom became involved in the businesses. Eldest son Ernest died at 31 in 1908 when thrown from a buggy when his horse bolted on the street outside their home.
Second son, John Carl Pendray, became managing director and continued in that capacity until his retirement in 1948. Carl was mayor of Victoria from 1925-28, and the founder and guiding spirit of Victoria & Island Publicity Bureau. He was a tireless worker for Victoria: he copyrighted the slogan used for decades by Victoria Tourism, “Follow the Birds to Victoria;” and he and associates established the first car-ferry business to Victoria in 1922. He bought Esquimalt waterworks for the City, paving the way for the present Greater Victoria water district. He was instrumental in the development of the Ogden Point grain elevator and cold storage plant. Carl was one of the original directors of the Canadian Highway Association, and got the road built to the top of Mt. Douglas in Saanich. In 1927-28 he was vice-president of the National Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association of North America. He was a charter member of Victoria Rotary Club and a Mason, active in the Red Cross, Community Chest and wartime bond drives, and a member of Union, Uplands and Victoria Golf Clubs. Carl Pendray died in 1961 at 81. Bapco was headed by his son Allan Pendray until 1965, when the business was sold to Canadian Industries Ltd (CIL). Carl’s brothers Herbert (1883-1956) and Roy (1890-1932) also worked for Bapco, Herbert as Vice-President and Roy as Prairie Manager headquartered in Calgary.
And here:
Herbert, the third son (1883-1956), became the vice-president of the paint company. Married, he had no children. He and his wife were active in the Metropolitan United Church, leaving a bequest to the church, which led to the construction of Pendray Hall.
Youngest son Roy (1891-1932) managed the prairie operations from Calgary. Pneumonia took him at the age of 41 in 1932. His widow and four daughters were left. They moved back to Victoria after Roy's death.
Carl managed Bapco until his retirement. He served as mayor of Victoria from 1924-28. Upon retirement, in 1948, his son Allan became president of the company. On January 1, 1966 Canadian Industries Limited purchased Bapco. In 1973 the company moved operations to the mainland.
Colwood's stalled 'Two Waters' master-planned community could re-emerge pending land sale
26.5-acre parcel at Esquimalt Lagoon anticipated to sell for over $30 million.