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Shaughnessy

Shaughnessy

Vancouver West
A local perspective

About the neighbourhood.

Shaughnessy is one of Vancouver’s oldest and most prestigious neighbourhoods. It is divided into First Shaughnessy, Second Shaughnessy, and Third Shaughnessy. First is 16th to King Ed. Second is Kind Ed to 33rd. And, Third is 33rd to 41st. Oak to the east and Arbutus or East Boulevard/Marguerite/Laburnum to the west.
Shaughnessy, Vancouver
British Columbia, Canada
Life in Shaughnessy

Get to know Shaughnessy.

In the early 1900’s, the Canadian Pacific Railway wanted to sell off plots of land in return for making downtown Vancouver the western terminus for its transcontinental railway. So, it started by selling off First Shaughnessy lots, for $450-800 a lot. The name Shaughnessy comes from the last name of the CP Rail president, Thomas Shaughnessy.

Shaughnessy homes tend to be on large manicured lots and the homes tend to have British and early American estate-like design elements.

The main types of real estate are large detached houses that are usually single-family dwellings. The First Shaughnessy District zoning (FSD) requires that to get large square footage on a lot, the front and sides of the original home need to remain intact, but additions can be added, as well as ancillary buildings that are less dominant than the main structure. The applies to homes built prior to 1940. Preserving the history and the gorgeous estates and their ample foliage and landscaping is important to the city in this area. And, driving or walking through the area absolutely demonstrates it’s a very special, gorgeous part of Vancouver.
The neighbourhood vibe is clearly wealthy, prestigious, beautifully maintained large historic, and new, homes. Stunning landscaping. Very walkable and flat. It also tends to be quiet with minimal vehicle or foot traffic. With the older, particularly large mansions, it’s easy to imagine the large and lavish events that would have taken places during the past century.

The downsides would be that most homes don’t offer views. Price would be a downside for most. Though, the price would also be an upside for some, as it serves as a barrier to entry. One downside is that the time it takes for construction can be very long due to the guidelines and rules. For those who like modern homes, the most sought-after Shaughnessy neighbourhoods are not going to offer much in the way of options. But, that’s intentional so for many, it’s an upside.

The future of Shaughnessy will be more of the same. More of the old houses will be either demolished and replaced or renovated on a massive scale. Builders appear to favour the lots that allow demolition for two reasons: 1) for ease, and 2) the old houses on the bigger lots require complex renovations, development timelines and budgets. The resulting house might be 10,000 sqft+, and may be amazing, but these would like to have a smaller buyer pool than the houses that are more straightforward and can sell for $6-10M.

Prices tend to start around $4M-and top out around $25M, based on recent history’s sales. It is important to note that lots tend to be 7,500-30,000 sqft large, with exceptions. So, you are getting a lot more land in Shaughnessy than you are in other neighbourhoods.

Explore the neighbourhood

Shaughnessy properties.

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