Developer loses bid to lower assessed value of West Vancouver mansion from $22M to $14M

The mansion at 1669 Marlowe Pl. has 14 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, an indoor pool and nearly 20,000 square feet of living space. (bcassessment.ca)

A West Vancouver mansion owned by one of B.C.’s biggest and best-known property developers is not overvalued, according to the provincial Property Assessment Appeal Board.

Holborn Group—which has been behind controversial Vancouver projects including the former Trump tower, the Little Mountain social housing site and the demolition of Dunsmuir House—owns 1669 Marlowe Pl., a 14-bedroom, 17-bathroom, nearly 20,000-square-foot mansion in West Vancouver.

The property’s assessed value for 2025 was set at just over $22.2 million, but Holborn challenged that valuation, arguing that the luxury property market had peaked years ago and the actual value of the home should be $14.7 million.

After the Property Assessment Review Panel upheld the higher valuation, Holborn appealed to the PAAB, which issued its decision on Dec. 23.

“The appellant asserts that the luxury market peaked between 2016 and 2018,” reads the decision, which is signed by PAAB panel chair Bruce Turner.

“They also state that various factors—including multiple taxes introduced between 2016 and 2022, as well as restriction of capital outflows from China—have significantly affected luxury real estate sales volumes and prices in West Vancouver and neighbouring markets.”

“While these observations are interesting, they are not supported by market data or empirical evidence. Without verification. I find these claims do not lead to a reliable estimate of the subject’s market value.”

Turner’s decision describes the mansion as a “luxury single-family residence of Italian/European architecture” in West Vancouver’s Canterbury neighbourhood. Constructed in 2003, it straddles three lots totalling 1.37 acres, “providing it with privacy, ocean and mountain views,” according to the decision.

Because the area is zoned for single-family residential construction and the existing home takes up one-third of the total area of the property, Turner concluded its current use is its “highest and best.”

Holborn argued that a covenant restricting construction on the back portion of the lot should reduce the property’s assessed value, saying it would be impossible to construct an outdoor pool on the site. The panel chair was unmoved, noting that the mansion already houses an indoor pool.

The covenant “does not negatively impact the subject’s market value,” Turner concluded.

Between them, the appellant and the assessor submitted 13 sales of “comparable” properties, though the decision notes that all of the comparables have smaller lots and floor plans than the Marlowe Place mansion.

One of the comparables—a nearby home at 1609 Marlowe Pl.—sold for a little less than $12.1 million in July 2021 and was resold in October 2025 for $19 million, but Turner concluded there was insufficient evidence to determine the overall trend in the luxury market over that time period and opted not to apply a “time adjustment” to the sale prices of the comparables.

Instead, the panel chair calculated that, on average, the comparable homes sold for $1,409 per square foot. The median price per square foot was $1,330.

“As the subject is considerably larger both in site size and total living area, it is reasonable to expect that an economy of scale should be recognized in selecting its value per square foot,” Turner’s decision reads.

“It is also reasonable that the subject’s age, which is greater than several of the comparable sales, would be recognized in a lower unit rate.”

The panel chair estimated that the property’s actual market value is likely $1,200 per square foot, or nearly $23.9 million, suggesting the property was “conservatively assessed” in 2025.

“I conclude that the subject’s current assessment of $22,207,000 is (a) reasonable estimate of market value,” Turner’s decision concludes.

“As the appellant was not put on notice that an increase to their assessment was a potential outcome of this appeal, I decline to increase the assessment to the subject’s actual value.”

The assessed value is broken down into $9,896,000 for land and $12,311,000 for the building.

Notably, the property’s assessed value has declined slightly in each of the last two years, according to BC Assessment. It fell from $23.3 million in 2023 to $22.7 million in 2024 and $22.2 million in 2025.

Over the last decade, the assessed value of 1669 Marlowe Pl. has risen as high as $26.5 million in 2017 and dipped as low as $18.9 million in 2021.