Bid to preserve parkland dashed by approval of $118m plans
Lena Sin
Province
Bowen Island. Photograph by: Handout, PNG
A piece of pristine private property that was used for decades as a public playground for Bowen Island residents is now being subdivided into a multimillion-dollar residential development.
The Cape on Bowen is a $118-million luxury development spanning 248 hectares on the southwest tip of Bowen Island, which is 20 minutes by ferry from West Vancouver.
The waterfront property, known by locals as the Cape Roger Curtis lands, will be subdivided into 59 lots of about four hectares each, with prices starting at $1.75 million.
For years, the subject of development on the property was contentious, with some residents hoping to see it preserved as parkland.
But after six years of back-and-forth negotiations between the Vancouver-based developer and the municipality, the developer is now proceeding with its original plan.
“We are basically pretty comfortable that this is the best use of the land. Because of the low density, we can preserve the pristine nature of the land,” said Edwin Lee, owner of Leeda Development Group.
The development is a joint venture between Leeda Development and Don Ho’s Trans City Group. The developers bought the property in 2004 for $16 million and the 2010 B.C. Assessment valued the property at about $27.5 million.
The land was previously owned by two families who too had considered developing the property as far back as 1977.
But over the years the idea didn’t go anywhere and the land was passed on from one generation to the next, according to Bowen Island Coun. Alison Morse.
“The previous owners were very generous and allowed the public to walk through there. The community was used to seeing this as their own park,” said Morse.
When the idea of subdivision was met with opposition, the developers were invited by council to come up with an alternative.
The developers proposed preserving a large part of the land as a park and providing other amenities in exchange for higher density of about 600 housing units.
But Mayor Bob Turner says the public was “overwhelmingly” opposed, with critics saying the housing density was excessive.
Lee and Ho are now proceeding with the original proposal, which is compliant with existing zoning regulations.
When the property first went up for sale at least two groups were interested in purchasing the land for conservancy, including the Cape Roger Curtis Trust Society, which could not raise enough funds before the developer put in its bid.
Jean Jamieson, a board member of the society, says she’s still hopeful they can raise enough funds to purchase some of the land for preservation.
“It’s a big disappointment the development was approved,” said Jamieson.
Sales for the first phase of Cape on Bowen started last week, with the prices averaging $2 million.
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