Four brightly-painted houses which have become local landmarks in Cliff Bungalow are going to be demolished.

They stand in the 500 block of 23rd Avenue S.W., just west of Fourth Street in Cliff Bungalow.

The new owner — a development company called Liam Urbano — is planning to build a six-unit townhouse on the site.

The homes are around 100 years old, just one of the reasons some people believe they shouldn’t be destroyed.

“I think one of them is just preserving our cultural landscapes — our heritage streetscapes — that real quality of life that those homes give back to us," he said.

"I think that’s the first thing that we’d lose if we lost them,” said Marilyn Williams, heritage director of the Cliff Bungalow-Mission Community Association.

“They’re a landmark — they’re very recognizable, a tsunami wave, and really catchy.”

Williams adds the buildings don't meet the criteria that could qualify them for heritage status.