It's one of B.C.'s most famous architect's most famous buildings and it's up for grabs.
Arthur Erickson’s Eppich House II, a 6,400-square-foot masterpiece of residential architecture, is being listed for $12.8 million, following major restoration work on the house itself and the surrounding landscape.
The home, at 1056 Groveland Rd. in the British Properties in West Vancouver, was originally built in Brigitte and Hugo Eppich in 1988. After being lived in by the couple and their three-children for three decades, it first went on the market in 2018 for $16.8 million. In years following, it was listed a few more times for as low as $9.98 million, before coming off the market in May 2021.
What’s changed since it was last listed is significant work to restore the home to its original condition, says real estate agent Geoff Taylor.
“When it was on [the market previously], it was still quite lived in,” he said. “The owners who built the house, who are selling it because they are empty-nesters and are downsizing, they were still there.”
There was wear and tear to the house, like some curved glass that had cracked, and pipes that needed to be upgraded, Taylor said. But the feeling was that a buyer would see the beauty of the house and restore it themselves.
Due to market conditions and other factors, the restoration process wasn’t something that a potential buyer was interested in at the time, he added. So the owners pulled the house off the market and began the restoration work, which included “finding the artwork that was originally commissioned for that specific wall, finding the furniture and putting it back in exactly the place where it was, and completely restoring and upgrading the house, making sure that the roof was done, the plumbing was done, all the electrical It’s been upgraded,” Taylor said, adding that the outdoor reflection pond has been drained, resealed and refilled.
“The idea was that they would put the whole house back together and restore it to its original condition, so that it looks and feels exactly how it was meant to be enjoyed when it was originally completed,” he continued.
'Value is not in the land,' agent says
Despite its historical value as what’s widely considered to be one of Erickson’s most realized residential visions, there are no heritage protections on the home.
The value of the property comes from the architectural significance of Eppich House II, as well as how the 1.2-acre property has been carefully tailored to the structures resting on it.
“As far as ripping the house down and developing it … the value is not in the land. The value is in the land plus the home,” Taylor said.
“One thing that’s striking about this house is how well it lives right now. There are some architecturally significant homes in West Vancouver, North Vancouver and Vancouver as well that are beautiful, but lack function,” he said. “For example, if you’re a fan of the Russell and Fred Hollingsworth homes, you walk in and it’s inspiring, but then when you consider the functionality of living, some of them only have one bathroom.”
Now that it’s been completely restored, Taylor said he can see a family just moving in and living in the home.
Features of the property include a four-bedroom, four-bathroom main house, a one-bedroom, one-bathroom guest house, a pool, hot tub, reflecting ponds and a creek. The buildings are characterized by floor-to-ceiling glass held between steel beams.
Custom furnishings in the home were designed by Erickson and interior designer Francisco Kripacz, and manufactured by Ebco Inudsitries, a company co-founded by Hugo Eppich.
