West Vancouver buys final Ambleside waterfront property, clearing way for continuous seawall

West Vancouver’s continuous seawall project is in sight following the district’s purchase of the final waterfront property in Ambleside.

For 50 years, municipal governments in West Vancouver have had a vision to make the Ambleside seawall a continuous walking path from the beach to Dundarave.

To make this dream a reality, the district has been slowly buying up 37 private waterfront homes that were preventing the path from being completed. One property belonged to the Frewer family, who purchased it in 1977.

“We could kind of see the direction things were going, but we just figured we’d last as long as we could, hang out as long as we could,” said owner Terry Frewer.

In 2023, billionaire Jimmy Pattison, who owned the house next door, sold to the district, leaving the Frewers as the last remaining private homeowner on that stretch.

“There were some who suggested we should simply expropriate them, but that’s just not the right thing to do,” said West Vancouver mayor Mark Sager.

“If it hadn’t been for Mark, it would have felt like an axe was about to fall, but he’s not like that,” said Frewer. “He certainly made it easier for us to reckon with that.”

After some negotiations, the Frewers agreed on a price. The home they bought nearly half a century ago for $185,000 has just been acquired by the district for $7.3 million, using money donated from a wealthy family.

The structure will be offered free to anyone who can barge it off the property by August.

“I hope someone will love it and make a home out of it,” said Frewer. “It’s in really good condition, you couldn’t build this house now with the quality of timber and wood. It is remarkable.”

If there are no takers, Sager said the district will follow the same process undergone for Jimmy Pattison’s house, and have it dissembled and recycled. Once it’s gone, a dream 50 years in the making will finally be realized.

“There will be a beautiful, open, usable space all the way along,” said Sager. “It’s going to be fantastic.”

Frewer is proud to be a part of the final step in the 50-year seawall project.

“They’ve done a beautiful job here when they’ve taken the houses down. It’s beautiful, it’s natural, the design has been incredible,” he said.

Frewer and his wife have purchased another home on the water in West Vancouver, but they say they will always have fond memories of their Ambleside original.

“It’s simple, easy to live in,” he said.

“Nothing is equal to this, all of the beauty we have.”