Vancouver Hobbit House has $2.5 million price tag. It’s one of three in Metro Vancouver designed by Ross Lort
It feels a bit like whack a mole. One hobbit house gets a reprieve from the bulldozer and the next one comes up for sale. Fortunately the Lea Residence has a heritage designation, which means it can’t be torn down—it even comes with its own plaque.
West Broadway:
This is the third time the house at 3979 West Broadway has come up for sale in the last five years. Back in 2009 its future looked shaky when it sold to a developer for $1.65 million. But instead of razing the place, James Curtis did a deal with the City where he sunk close to a million dollars into renovating the house, designated it, and in return was allowed to subdivide and build a second house on the large lot.
The realtor’s blurb says the West Broadway hobbit house offers an option for people wanting to down size, which makes me laugh because that renovation increased the size of the house to 3,000 sq. ft—that’s one gnarly “bungalow.”
The reno also included a new $200,000 thatch-like roof, which is of course the house’s most distinctive feature.
West Vancouver:
The North Shore hobbit house is at 885 Braeside Street on Sentinel Hill in West Vancouver. According to its real estate for sale ad in December 2022, it was completely rebuilt in keeping with its heritage in 1996. This four bedroom house with drop dead views was going for $4.5 million.
Designed by Ross Lort:
The house is one of three story-book cottages in Vancouver designed by architect Ross Lort in the early 1940s. Lort also designed Casa Mia for the Reifel family on Southwest Marine Drive. The others are on King Edward in Vancouver and on Braeside in West Van. The Lea House first appears in the city directories in 1941 and is named for its original owner and builder Brenton Lea. Lea sold his house to William Brown a Vancouver dentist, in 1943.
You can get a look inside at the open house tomorrow March 2nd from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.
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4 comments on “Vancouver Hobbit House has $2.5 million price tag”
Hi Eve. Well my goodness I didn’t know there were more than one Hobbit homes in Vanc. I only recall the one on King Ed. brings back memories AND of course very interesting… thanks as always.
I haven’t checked out the one in West Van yet, hopefully it’s in good condition. Thanks for commenting!
This is a truly ‘great’ character house (unlike many of the new double-gabled variety that are being constructed in recent years in Vancouver). Such a charming character! I’m very pleased to hear that this house has historical designation, and hope that Vancouver City Council doesn’t change their minds about that (like they have in the past in order to allow developers to build new condos).
Hi Noreen: it has heritage b designation, it’s my understanding that once a house goes through the designation process it can’t be undone – as opposed to just being on the heritage register where pretty much anything can happen. I hope that’s right!