When Lorne Segal was growing the 12-storey Kingswood residential tower within the coronary heart of South Granville 25 years in the past, he by no means imagined his mother and father, billionaire businessman and philanthropist Joe and his spouse Rosalie, would in the end name the most effective of the constructing’s 18 items,
the West Property
, residence. Having offered their five-bedroom, 12-bathroom, 22,000-square-foot Level Gray home for $42 million in 2021, the couple needed luxurious on a smaller scale, however not condo-small.
“My mother and father had been sure they’d by no means reside in a typical highrise,” says Segal, president of Kingswood Properties Ltd. “What they valued most in regards to the Kingswood was that it was conceived not as a standard condominium, however as a limited-edition residential work — nearer in spirit to a personal property than to typical multi-family housing. It preserved the essence of their former residence: privateness, dignity and sweetness, however in a extra manageable kind.”
Derek Grech, founding father of West Vancouver realtors The Companions and itemizing agent for the unit, says, “As they had been growing older, (the Segals) had been on the lookout for one thing that was lock-up-and-go and had an elevator. They purchased it for round $5 million and spent nearly the identical quantity renovating all the 4,100 sq. toes, from the sinks to the chandeliers. The constructing itself is such a phenomenal construction — each commerce that was concerned in constructing the Kingswood has used it as a portfolio spotlight on how one can correctly construct a constructing within the metropolis.”
Whereas finding out legislation at Oxford, Segal says he was influenced by England’s conventional structure and later by then Prince Charles’ guide A Imaginative and prescient of Britain, which, he says, “articulated ideas I discovered myself instinctively agreeing with — human scale, proportion, craftsmanship, and a perception that buildings ought to age gracefully and enrich each day life.”
Years after finishing the Kingswood, he met Prince Charles in Vancouver, who was flattered that Segal had learn his guide and that it had influenced the constructing. Segal, in flip, despatched the Prince his personal guide in regards to the constructing, referred to as The Kingswood, which prompted an invite to dine with the Prince at Buckingham Palace, the place they talked “about structure and the duty of the constructed setting,” says Segal. “Whereas the Kingswood was by no means ‘endorsed’ (by King Charles) in a proper sense, it was profoundly significant to see the concepts that formed it acknowledged in such a private approach.”
What’s inside
Occupying certainly one of solely two main-floor items, Joe and Rosalie, who lived within the Kingswood for a comparatively quick interval earlier than Joe died in 2022 and Rosalie a yr later, had the choice of coming into the house by intricately carved gates and previous a 24-hour concierge within the foyer, or by their non-public, three-car lower-level storage.
The elegant foremost dwelling space is awash in pure gentle due to tinted curved home windows that stretch as much as the 18- foot excessive ceiling — the most important curved glass job in North America on the time. A black Italian marble fire mantel, designed by native stone specialists Marble Artwork, warms the brilliant, expansive room. The vintage European chandelier was bought in 2015 for US$135,000. In reality, all of the unit’s lighting fixtures are custom-made from Italy.
Within the eating room, a hand-painted ceiling and wall remedy in metallic background depicts fruit timber and floral vines, designed by ornamental artwork specialists at Gorman Studios in Vancouver to resemble silk crépon. Double doorways open from the eating room onto a 5,500-square-foot out of doors patio and inexperienced house stuffed with flowering timber and shrubbery, ultimate for out of doors entertaining and gardening.
“The backyard was central to their each day life,” says Segal. “From the second one entered the residence, the view opened to a personal, expansive backyard roughly the dimensions of a metropolis lot. Wherever they sat — lounge, eating space, or kitchen — they had been visually linked to greenery. It turned the emotional centre of the house.”
A library/sitting room that might additionally double as an workplace or den options custom-designed, built-in cabinetry by North Vancouver’s Ernest Collins Architect, which pays homage to legendary furnishings designer Chippendale. The Georgian-style oval medallions within the panels are comprised of uncommon woods, together with ebony.
The kitchen options granite counter tops and home equipment by Wolf, together with the microwave oven and a six-burner range with griddle. The 48-inch huge side-by-side refrigerator-freezer and wine cooler had been made by Sub-Zero, as was a 150-200 bottle wine cooler within the basement. The high-end metal dishwasher is by Swedish firm ASKO Home equipment. Cabinetry comes courtesy of V6B design group in Vancouver, and the herringbone flooring sample is fabricated from stable oak parquet.
A separate restaurant-style chef’s prep kitchen with business walk-in fridge and freezer within the basement “allowed for catered occasions to happen discreetly with out intruding on the principle dwelling areas,” says Segal. Nonetheless, he says, by the point his mother and father moved in, entertaining was now not to the extent it was once they hosted bigger capabilities for fundraising and different social occasions from their earlier years.
The renovations, which spanned two years, additionally reconfigured the unique four-bedroom structure into three bedrooms to create a bigger main suite. “Finishes had been refined, particulars sharpened, and supplies upgraded, however all the time in line with the unique architectural language of the constructing,” says Segal.
The first bed room options two separate dressing rooms and en suites with Pure gold-plated fixtures by Phylrich in California, in addition to a custom-etched sink design with double glass and gold leaf underlay. A wall overlaying with a metallic silver background and painted by hand timber with flowers was designed by Gorman Studios. Bathe partitions are fabricated from marble and glass tiles with gold leaf backing. Mirror paintings on the suite’s two bogs options the traditional ornamental artwork of reverse glass portray referred to as eglomise, designed by Gorman Studios.
Carpeting all through the house is designed and custom-made of fifty/50 wool and silk, excluding the first bed room’s wall-to-wall, which is 25/75 wool and silk.
The bronze-accented staircase results in an higher balcony with gold-plated baluster and railings custom-designed by Ernest Collins Architect. The non-public elevator, whose doorways function chinoiserie, the European imitation of Chinese language artistry, a mix of conventional and modern Chinese language and Japanese design lacquer work, additionally by Gorman Studios, connects the 2 flooring in addition to the storage.
Throughout renovations, Grech says, the Segals added “a number of Tesla producing panels within the storage, so if the block misplaced energy their unit would nonetheless be self-sufficient.”
Segal says that when he first conceived the Kingswood, though he by no means thought his mother and father would sometime name it residence, he did have folks like them in thoughts. “Individuals who cared deeply about privateness, proportion, craftsmanship and permanence, and who had been unwilling to compromise on these values. Through the years, many others selected the Kingswood for exactly these causes. However when my mother and father in the end selected it as their closing residence — many years after the concept first took form — it carried a which means that was completely private. It wasn’t about validation; it was about seeing the Kingswood by the eyes of probably the most discerning folks I knew. In that second, it felt like a protracted and demanding journey had come full circle.”
Within the neighbourhood
“It’s a quiet South Granville neighbourhood with a little bit of liveliness to it,” says Grech, with espresso outlets, banks and grocery shops in close by Granville Avenue and Kitsilano. “Throughout the road is the Vancouver Garden Tennis & Badminton Membership. Some folks like the truth that Vancouver Basic Hospital is shut, and the airport is shut.”
And whereas there are various faculties close by, Grech says, “I don’t assume it (would attraction to) a household with younger youngsters, they’d need a (greater) residence, except it was a household from New York or L.A. used to dwelling in condos. The folks we’ve proven it to have been 60-year-old {couples} downsizing from their greater homes. Individuals who wish to promote their home in Shaughnessy however nonetheless really feel like they’re dwelling in Shaughnessy however with a better lock-up-and-go strategy.”
Location:
1b — 1596 W. 14th Avenue, Vancouver
Listed for:
$9,800,000
Yr constructed:
2001
Kind:
Three bedrooms, six bogs
Measurement:
4,181 sq ft townhouse
Realtor:
Listed by Derek Grech, The Companions Actual Property
Associated
Property Watch: Village dwelling in Anmore is only a practice experience from Vancouver
Property Watch: Sprawling Langley property comes with lake possession and a coach home
