It’s becoming increasingly rare to find a property on the North Shore where the square footage isn’t maximized to the lot size.
That’s why the agents at real estate firm West Coast Modern say the “Flying Arrow” house at 805 Forest Hills Dr. in North Vancouver is at high risk of demolition.
Originally built in 1950 for Jim and Berenice Atkins, the Fred Hollingsworth-designed residence was listed by the firm on Friday at $2.295 million. The 1,363-square-foot home is situated on a 9,660-square-foot lot near Edgemont Village, and is the last remaining home in a series of six Flying Arrow homes.
Developers are currently bidding on the house to tear it down, said Trent Rodney of West Coast Modern.
“As a relatively modest home on an oversized lot in a neighbourhood that has seen a considerable amount of demolition activity over the past few years, this architecturally significant home is in real danger of being lost unless a buyer can be found,” Rodney said. “As the only surviving Flying Arrow house, this home is a rare early example of modern design by Fred Hollingsworth – Canada’s answer to Frank Lloyd Wright.”
The Flying Arrow collection were modern, efficiently designed dwellings, Rodney said, which were variants of Hollingsworth’s neoteric vision of modest, repeatable post-and-beam homes situated in nature.
The two-bedroom, one-bathroom home features several unique elements, including a vaulted ceiling with exposed scissor trusses, and clerestory windows that let in light while maintaining privacy from the street. A commanding five-foot tall fireplace and solid brick wall encase the living area.
Given the similarities between the two architects’ designs, the Flying Arrow house is the closest you can get to buying a Frank Lloyd Wright home in B.C., Rodney said.
“Fred Hollingsworth’s designs were heavily influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic architecture principles, and this is particularly apparent in his early work,” he said.
James K.M. Cheng's 'Peninsula House' sells $375K above asking
Meanwhile, the “Peninsula House” – designed by prolific urban architect James K.M. Cheng – at 4069 Madeley Rd. in North Van has sold for $3.5 million, $375,000 above the listing price of $3.125 million. Rodney said he offered 144 tours and received eight offers on the home.
It listed April 14 and sold April 17, just three days later.
Before Cheng started taking on larger projects in Vancouver's downtown core, like the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel and the Shaw Tower, he designed a select few smaller residential projects, including Peninsula House.
