The District of West Vancouver is hoping to sell a beachfront home in Ambleside for as little as $1.
The catch? You have to take the house somewhere else.
Last week, the district announced it was looking for bidders to purchase and remove a residential home recently bought by the district at 1448 Argyle Ave.
The yellow-shingled house was once the home of B.C. business magnate and long-time West Vancouver resident Jim Pattison, and later his parents.
It is one of two remaining waterfront homes between Ambleside Park and John Lawson Park.
The district bought the house from Pattison in January of this year as part of a long-running plan to create a continuous public walkway and park along the Argyle waterfront.
It agreed to pay just under $5.2 million for the property, which was valued at $5.4 million in 2022. Funds for the purchase came from the sale of property previously donated to the district and subdivided into three lots.
Jim Pattison Industries Ltd. purchased two of the three lots donated to the district. Each lot was listed for roughly $2.9 million.
“1448 Argyle was home for me and my family, and also for my mother and father for many years,” Pattison said in a statement at the time the sale was announced.
“We are happy to help Mayor (Mark) Sager and the District of West Vancouver in achieving their goal of creating this new parkland on the oceanfront.”
The Argyle Avenue property will be turned into waterfront park space once Pattison’s old home is removed, according to the district. It will be called Brissenden Waterfront Park, in honour of the family that donated the land sold to finance the purchase of Pattison’s old home.
In an interview with the North Shore News published at the time the sale to the district was announced, Pattison said he used the property to get his first loan to go into business for himself, and that he has fond memories of his life on Argyle Avenue.
“Some of the best years of my life, and I’ve had a lot of good ones, were in that house,” he told the paper.
Whoever buys the home will be responsible for raising and moving the house and transporting it via barge and other means to its final destination.
They will need to provide details on the planned use and the intended location of the house, as well as demonstrate they have the money available to relocate it.
The district’s preference is for the house to be salvaged. But if no one is interested in buying it and removing it from the property, the home will be demolished.
Interested parties must submit paperwork by June 28.
