Public beach trail in $6.5 million West Vancouver property deal a "win-win"
A realtor who put time and effort into improving and marketing a waterfront property for sale in West Vancouver tells Daily Hive she’s pleased with a final deal that includes a new beach access trail for the public.
Holly Calderwood was hired by the District of West Vancouver to try to sell a municipally owned lot at 3000 Park Lane. The District hoped to use the funds from the sale to buy another property in Ambleside in support of its waterfront development vision there.
But the steeply sloped property wasn’t an instant hit on the real estate market. BC Assessment valued it at $7.4 million, but initial offers were in the $5 million range. What’s more, the property’s sale was met with criticism from some neighbours because changing the lot’s ownership from public to private would impact a pedestrian trail on the property down to Altamont Beach.
In the end, Calderwood worked with potential buyers and the District to come up with a $6.5 million deal. The buyers would give the District right-of-way access on the east side of the property and help foot the bill for a new trail down to the beach.
“The buyers are giving back. We want to make this a win-win,” Calderwood said. “We want the neighbours to be happy, we want council to be happy.”
District of West Vancouver
In an October 30 news release, the district said the existing path would have had to be replaced either way. It was closed to the public in July, sparking backlash from residents because it meant one less publicly accessible route down to the coastline.
However, the buyers and District ended up agreeing on a plan that would see the buyers foot the bill for most of the construction costs on the new path. Construction on the new path is estimated to take about two years.
District of West Vancouver
Finding the right buyer for the property wasn’t straightforward, either. Calderwood said 3000 Park Lane was a “jungle” when she was first tasked with selling it. After an initial listing didn’t fetch what the District thought the land was worth, Calderwood got to work pruning vegetation to open up a line of sight to the water. She also worked with Lamoureux Architects Inc. to create renderings of a luxury home that could be built on the property.
“It’s not an easy lot to sell. It had been on the market for 12 years, and I got them the price they wanted by thinking outside the box,” Calderwood said.
The proposed deal was outlined in a report to council and adopted as part of a road closure bylaw on October 28. That was the major hurdle, according to Calderwood. Now, all that’s needed to finalize the sale are two notices in the North Shore News next month to inform the public about the bylaw update before a resolution authorizing transfer to the buyer is completed following section 40 of West Vancouver’s Community Charter 1.