I was raised in a suburban Toronto neighbourhood where many residents spent hours commuting to work each day. As teens, my friends and I began exploring downtown; Kensington Market was one of my favourite destinations.
Since the 1920s, residents have lived in this historic area with their families in the spaces above their street-level retail spaces, and I loved its lively energy. For me, it was a delight of sights, smells, and sounds so different from my suburban home, a 45-minute transit ride—but also a world—away.
The Comox Valley has its own urban live/work enclave with businesses are at street level and homes are above. Tin Town, located near the intersection of 26th Street and Cousins Avenue, looks unlike the rest of the Valley, thanks to its gleaming structures with corrugated steel walls and steep-pitched green metal roofs.
Purchasing the land in 1990
Developer and contractor Tom Larsen bought the land in 1990 with a particular vision. “I had travelled a lot in Asia, [where] this way of living is very common. I took a lot of photos in these places and thought about how I could create a little village.”
Tom’s former partner, Heather Currie, says the 6.5-acre neighbourhood was originally to be called “Rosewall” for the rosa rugosa shrubs she planted (which explains the main road being named Rosewall Crescent). A visiting family member of a couple living in one of units first dubbed the area “Tin Town” in about 1994, and it stuck.
Unique structures create the look, but it’s Tin Town’s residents and workers who make and cultivate a community with events like a Christmas open house, regular block parties, and occasional outdoor concerts. “I love living there,” says painter Helen Utsal, a long-time resident. “I’m a city person, and I love that Tin Town has that urban feel to it. It has a great vibe.”
Long-time Tin Town resident, Hwayroo Maxwell
Originally from Taiwan, Hwayroo Maxwell has lived in Tin Town for many years with her husband, Josh, and their two teenaged children. She says, “This kind of lifestyle is natural for me. All over Asia, people don’t separate work and life.” The Maxwells’ café displays and sells the works of artists who live and work in Tin Town, along with other Valley-based artists, as a way of supporting their community.
Jayne Kim, whose family operates a grocery and eatery, agrees. “I find it very convenient living above the business,” she says. “When the business is your life, you’re going to put in a lot of time, anyway.” She and her family appreciate how the neighbourhood’s residents and business owners collaborate and communicate, creating a tightly bonded community.
“I didn’t know how it was going to go when I first started building it. I mostly just wanted to keep my crew of construction workers employed,” reminisces Tom Larsen. He still visits regularly, and when he does, he’s proud to see a neighbourhood of “interesting and diverse residents enthusiastically engaged in their dynamic community.”
