Welcome to Manoah Village: A Historical Summary

Welcome to our little Village! Living in Manoah Village means you are not just occupying a standard townhouse; you are becoming the custodian of a significant piece of West Coast architectural history. Located at 10200 4th Avenue in Steveston North, Richmond, B.C., this 110-unit stacked townhouse complex blends innovative mid-century community planning with iconic Canadian design.

The Design: An Arthur Erickson Original (1969–1971)
The story began in 1969 when the City of Richmond commissioned the legendary Canadian modernist architect Arthur Erickson (alongside his firm Erickson/Massey) to design an innovative housing alternative. At a time when affordable projects were typically built as drab, clinical concrete towers, Erickson completely rejected the standard approach. He envisioned an organic, family-friendly “village” deeply connected to nature. Spanning over six acres, Erickson arranged the 3-level stacked townhouse geometries to loop entirely around a massive, secure, and park-like inner courtyard. Lower units were designed to look out onto gated private garden patios, while upper units were given a distinctive “urban penthouse” feel featuring massive, 200-square-foot top-floor private sun decks meant to mimic open backyards in the sky.

The Building: Post-War Boom & Federal Partnerships (1971–1974)
Construction on the complex took place between 1971 and 1974. Built during a highly progressive era of federal funding via the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Manoah Village was structured as an attainable municipal alternative to suburban sprawl. Erickson seamlessly integrated functional community assets directly into the blueprints, including an outdoor heated pool, a central social clubhouse, children’s play areas, and direct-access carports allowing residents to drive right up to their ground-level entries. Its strategic location directly across the street from Manoah Steves Elementary School cemented its purpose as a long-term, supportive environment for local families.

The Sale & Stratification (Mid-1970s)
Though conceived under a municipal affordable housing umbrella, Manoah Village was destined for private ownership rather than remaining a permanent government-owned rental block. The complex officially transitioned into a private freehold corporation under Strata Plan NWS51. The “NWS” prefix indicates that it stands as one of the earliest generation strata plans ever registered in British Columbia under the province’s newly introduced Strata Titles Act. Units were sold individually to middle-class and working-class families, fulfilling the era’s vision of using elite architectural design to provide an upscale lifestyle at an accessible, first-time homebuyer price point. Units started at $40,000 and 5% down was all that was required to purchase. (That’s equivalent to about $240,000 in 2026 – about half of what they would sell on the market)

Design Evolutions & Structural Renovations
Like any heritage building entering its fifth decade, Manoah Village has undergone proactive structural and aesthetic updates to preserve its unique mid-century character while modernizing its infrastructure. The original building had wood siding, dark wood doors and cupboards and gold carpets. Globe lights in Kitchen and Dining rooms matched the globe lights in the Garden. Initially units had no individual fences, just partitions between backyards and there was no fence around the pool. By the early 1990s, the building had been wrapped in vinyl siding, which is also when the storage room glass doors to the courtyard were closed up. In ’94/’95 a number of men worked to the build picket fences you now see at all the downstairs units. In July 1996, the self-managed strata corporation finalized a comprehensive modernization of its registered bylaws. More recently, the complex completed a major roofing overhaul in 2019 to protect the flat and sloped roofs characteristic of Erickson’s design. Continuous exterior remediation throughout the mid-2020s has focused on revitalizing the expansive upper patio decks, replacing older sliding glass doors, and upgrading exterior windows to boost energy efficiency without compromising the indoor-outdoor integration. Additionally, carports are steadily adapting to modern needs with electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, while working with BC Hydro on an electric Infrastructure plan, to see if fast charging and higher loads might be possible.

Memories
A few of the original owners (or their family members) still live in the complex, they were able to share memories of New Year’s Eve parties for the entire complex held in the clubhouse that were well attended, and residents (and neighbours) sneaking through the hedges to swim in the pool at night. At one point a fence and keypad had to be put on the pool to keep neighbourhood people out and make sure none of the many kids who loved here wandered into the pool… especially once the hedges became more than just low shrubs an you could no longer see into the pool area from the individual decks.

More on Arthur Erickson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Erickson