Property Watch: Tricky-to-categorize ‘bare land strata’ home overlooks Marine Drive Golf Club

This three-bedroom home is part of Yewbrook Place, a unique development overlooking the Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver. Photo by Icon&co Boutique Inc.

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Is it a house? A townhouse? A duplex? Is it detached? Semi-detached? These are the head-scratching questions that interested buyers ask when they tour Yewbrook Place, a unique development overlooking the Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver.

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The answer, essentially, is yes. It is a house. It looks like a townhouse. It is semi-detached. It is a duplex, kind of. As Crystal Hung of Icon & Co. Boutique Inc. real estate marketing and sales agency puts it, “There isn’t even a category on MLS to categorize it, it’s so unique. It’s called a ‘bare land strata’, a big parcel of land that 13 homeowners share in a subdivision. They look like townhomes but they’re all individual single lots, with unobstructed views of the 105-acre golf course.

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“There’s a lot more to it behind the structure when you enter the home.”

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Home comprises two-and-a-half bathrooms, three bedrooms plus an open office over two levels connected by stairs and a private elevator. Photo by Icon&co Boutique Inc.

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What’s inside

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Hung says each structure is designed and built a bit differently. This particular home comprises two-and-a-half bathrooms, three bedrooms plus an open office over two levels connected by stairs and a private elevator. Four new terraces comprise almost 2,000 square feet with heaters above two of them.

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The property was renovated twice since it was built in 1982, the last time, in 2023, cost more than $1 million.

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The current homeowner, a construction executive, undertook an extensive overhaul, says Hung. “Everything was taken out — roofing, decks, drainage, mechanical, pipes, plumbing, electrical wiring, a lot of insulation, all window systems, the entire flooring was re-levelled, the rooftop deck was rebuilt and waterproofed, and interior and exterior finishes were upgraded. It’s basically a brand-new build.”

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She says the homeowner spent $180,000 on the hardwood, tiles, and carpeted flooring alone. Roughly $20,000 of that was just on levelling and waterproofing, from the rooftop deck all the way downstairs. She also invested more than $100,000 on custom-made EuroLine Windows and patio doors.

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The property was renovated twice since it was built in 1982, the last time, in 2023, cost more than $1 million. Photo by Icon&co Boutique Inc.

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Kitchen appliances include a Wolf range and Sub-Zero refrigerator. Photo by Icon&co Boutique Inc.

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The elevator was installed by Cambridge Cambrian Elevator from Western Elevator Ltd at a cost of $40,000. Photo by Icon&co Boutique Inc.

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“Because she’s a construction expert, she didn’t do it just for cosmetic reasons,” says Hung of the extensive renovations. “It was to be her forever home, and it was that long-term thinking she had in mind when she was renovating. She spent all the money and did the work (so it would be) very low maintenance. It’s like a house without the house problem. But she was being drawn too often to grandkids in Richmond …”

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There are two gas fireplaces, and extensive skylights span the top of the main entrance, above the staircase and into the kitchen.

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All three bedrooms are on the main floor, one of which is being used as a gym (and could also be converted to a home theatre). One features a Murphy bed, and another could be reconfigured to accommodate a live-in caretaker for a downsizer who wants to age in place. The primary bedroom is en suite with a jetted soaker tub and walk-in shower.

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There’s also an open office space by the kitchen. “Being a female executive, she’s always in her kitchen and office,” says Hung. “It didn’t make sense to have a third seating room, so she turned it into an office.”