Dogwood Gardens

There was a recent article in the Cloverdale Reporter about Dogwood Gardens celebrating 40 years so I thought I'd share some memories too.

Dogwood Gardens is a townhouse complex built on the east side of 177 B Street bordering 58th Avenue to the south. There are 86 or maybe 84 units - I don't recall how many! - on this 5 acre plot of land. The Reporter incorrectly reported Dogwood Gardens is on 10 acres. The confusion may have arisen that Mr Duckworth, of the former Duckworth's clothing store on 176th Street, sold the developer 10 acres that Dogwood Gardens is built on. Mr Duckworth probably did sell 10 acres. The original plans were a phase 2 complex, also to be built on 177 B Street, just north of the property where Dogwood Gardens stands. However Phase 2 never happened. I don't recall why, though lack of interest from prospective buyers seems to be what I remember. Back then this was a relatively new concept for the area. Dogwood Gardens is registered with the province as either strata 10 or 12 - again memory fails me which number it is! Today thousands of stratas are registered in BC. Back then we called Dogwood Gardens a condominium, but as apartment style condominiums started popping up, they were then referred to as townhouses. But back to the other 5 acres. That was turned into a couple of new streets and single family detached homes were built.

Dogwood Gardens was built by an old family friend of ours, Mr Ruckheim. He was a German builder and him and his partner retired after building Dogwood Gardens. Or should I say semi-retirement. He was building a boat with the plan to sail around the world with his wife and daughter, my friend Ingrid who was the same age as me. They got as far as Hawaii and wife and daughter jumped ship, had enough of bad weather, and flew back to BC where they waited for him and eventually built a home on Pender Island.

But back in 1969 a complex built by German builders who took pride in their workmanship resulted in very sturdy homes. These incredibly well built homes have maintenance issues as they age and residents update the interiors, but man I'd rather live there than in any of those new complexes that are slapped together these days by people who just want to get it done as fast as possible and get out. No pride in workmanship anymore.

Most of the Dogwood Garden townhouses are two bedrooms with a small den, but there are a few three bedroom and four bedroom units. Bedrooms are upstairs and downstairs is the kitchen, dining, and living rooms. The new units originally sold for $15,000 to $20,000. They are built around 4 quadrants with a different theme for the interior of each - a swimming pool, a playground, a fountain and putting green, and a mound garden. Walking paths wind throughout the complex. At 5 acres Dogwood Gardens has the lowest density of all townhouse complexes in North America.

The first year families were living there we all flocked there on Halloween. All those houses in one small area could be covered quickly. Unfortunately parents were driving their children in from other parts of Surrey. By the time we reached half the units they were already out of candy. The following year, and to date, Dogwood Gardens no longer has door to door trick or treating. Children are directed to the workshop decorated with a Halloween theme and some residents volunteer to hand out candies. The children receive a good sized bag full of treats.

My father purchased unit number 8 in Dogwood Gardens back in 1985 and rented it out for a short period of time before selling our house on 182 Street and him and my mother moved in and lived there for about 5 years. My father became president of the strata and one of the first things he did was get the bylaws changed to not allow renters. All the units are owned by the families who live in them.

In 1997 Kerry and I purchased unit 11 and lived there for 7 years. Bottom line was it was too small for our needs. Kerry was storing lumber in the living room and we had to look for a larger place. Sadly the new owners tore down the lovely rhododendron that was in front of the house.

Halloween as an owner is a little different than the kids who come to trick or treat at the workshop. Owners patrol the property all night to prevent vandals. We have a sign up sheet and take shifts.

We live nearby and often drive past Dogwood Gardens and it is still a neat and tidy complex, well mainained by a gardener/handyman. Strata living isn't for everyone but anyone looking to buy into this type of residence should give this property serious consideration.