Janis Cleugh, Freshet News – A fraternal group that’s met for 111 years in downtown Port Coquitlam has sold its building due to soaring property taxes.

Members of the DeWolf Lodge #78 of the Masonic Order will leave the historical two-storey structure on Shaughnessy Street in late September after the DeWolf Holding Company, which handles its assets, sold it to a daycare.

The $3-million sale is subject to conditions being met by the end of July, Worshipful Master Bryan Barr told Freshet News on April 27. The July 31 date was also confirmed by Mark Nemish, a broker for the seller William Wright.

Located at the southern end of the Shaughnessy Street underpass, the 5,000 sq. ft. landmark was likely once used as a general store for Port Coquitlam pioneers, Barr said. The Masons bought it in 1915 for its meetings and gatherings.

Over the years, the lodge rented out the building to other fraternal groups, such as the Vimy Lodge #97 as well as Job’s Daughters Bethel #63; the banquet hall on the ground floor also was used by the community for weddings and memorials.

But, in the past decade, the DeWolf Holding Company had to dip into its savings and borrow to keep operations afloat and pay for city property taxes, Barr said, noting its bill swelled from $18,000 to around $46,000 this year.

Barr, a technical sales representative who is also the treasurer of the DeWolf Holding Company, said the invoice makes up 90 per cent of the lodge’s annual expenses for the 62 active members. “It’s just the math. It’s untenable to continue,” he said.

Three years ago, the lodge had plans to demolish the aging building for a six-storey development with commercial at the base, a level for the Masons’ activities plus four floors of residential living.

However, Barr said, that proposal didn’t match the municipality’s vision for a civic land assembly to the north and east of the Masons’ building, to prepare for the eventual arrival of SkyTrain and to densify the downtown.

As a result of the building sale, the Masons will move their Monday night meetings across the street to the Royal Canadian Legion branch 133 space for up to 18 months before a long-term lease is signed in the Fremont Shopping Village.

Now, PoCo Heritage is interviewing the lodge members, taking photos and collecting future materials for safekeeping. Log books dating back a century will be archived by the museum while paraphernalia will go into storage during the transition.

“It’s a sad day for us,” Barr said, “but we’re still going to be in Port Coquitlam. We’ll march in the May Day parade on May 9. But there’s a lot of history that’s being lost for the community.”

A city spokesperson said there is currently no development application for the Shaughnessy Street property.

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Read the full article published by Freshet News.