B.C.’s Ministry of the Attorney General is citing provincial legislation to block the sale of a historic West Vancouver house by the cash-strapped Land Conservancy.
BJW Real Estate Holdings Ltd. is ready to pay $1.6 million for the Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning House and its Binning-related contents, according to documents submitted to the Supreme Court of B.C. The holding company’s director is listed on B.C. Registry documents as Bruno Wall, CEO of publicly traded Wall Financial Corp. in Vancouver.
The offer for Binning House has been accepted by the board of The Land Conservancy, which is in creditor protection due to debts of $7.5 million. Its court-appointed monitor will seek approval of the sale in the Supreme Court of B.C. in Vancouver on Monday.
But Attorney General Suzanne Anton is pointing to rules covering disposition of property under the Charitable Purposes Preservation Act.
The TLC does not have a “beneficial interest” in Binning House, the ministry said in a document filed in court Friday. A beneficial interest would give the right to receive a profit from a property or trust.
Further, the court should not permit a sale or transfer of Binning House unless it continued as a charitable property, the ministry said.
Heritage supporters fear that public access to the Binning House will be lost if it is sold. They are also worried it could spark a sell-off of all seven TLC heritage properties.
Binning House, designed in 1939, is an early example of modern architecture in Canada. It is a national historic site and has municipal heritage designation. After the death of B.C. Binning’s widow Jessie, it was transferred to the Binning Heritage Property Society, which in turn gave it to TLC in 2008.
Another issue to sort out is the validity of documents relating to the transfer of Binning House and conditions attached, TLC manager John Shields said Friday.
TLC has no documents or files on Binning House, said Shields, who took over the organization’s administration in recent months to help sort out its financial difficulties. TLC owns 50 properties in B.C., including heritage properties, with a total value of about $40 million.
The organization has no choice but to support the sale, Shields said. “From our perspective, it is a legitimate offer.”
Bill Turner, former TLC manager and chairman of the Binning House society, said in an Oct. 30 letter to TLC that the donation of the house was made on the understanding that it and its contents would be preserved and protected for future generations. TLC was to ensure the public had regular access to the house, he said.
Turner agrees that the Binning Property falls under the protection of B.C.’s Charitable Purposes Preservation Act.
Selling Binning House has ramifications for other B.C. charities, he said Friday.
The act was created in 2004 to protect properties owned by charities.
“The implications of the act are very significant,” Turner said. “If the act doesn’t mean anything, then the donors can’t trust charities to look after their properties, or the gifts that they make.”
B.C. has 12,238 registered charities, covering an array of interests, Canada Revenue Agency’s website states.
The potential buyer is a collector of B.C. Binning’s work and expects to spend $200,000 on upgrading, the court-appointed monitor said.
The lawyer for the potential purchaser said in a letter that the sale would include all personal property related to the Binnings, such as artwork, drawings, and furniture.
“Our client intends to maintain this personal property within the house and we expect that he will contribute some of his personal collection. . . .”
There is no mention of public access. The current tenant will have to move out, the lawyer said. Wall could not be reached for comment on Friday.
