2622 Clark Drive

It’s very difficult to find a single family character home in such a desirable location at this price point. This is a three level 1911 character home just three blocks off Commercial Drive, with a separate secondary suite. The house has been nicely updated while respecting the original character and charm.

This house stands apart on account of its character and aesthetic, it’s extremely desirable location, and its excellent value for a single family home in the city.

A 105 year old patina is impossible to re-create. No amount of faux finishing could ever replace the warmth and authenticity that’s been written into this structure over time. This is an excellent opportunity to do a few key upgrades for a juxtaposed modern/ heritage aesthetic with true authenticity, or simply move in and enjoy living here as it is.

From the current owners: “Our house has original beautiful fir floors… original mouldings, clawfoot tub and all of the wonderful charm of a 1911 house. It feels so homey and cozy.”

Inside you’ll find the main living space on the upper two floors and a large studio secondary suite with a separate entrance on the lower floor. There is also a laundry/ storage room on the lower floor accessible by both living areas.

The upper suite has two bedrooms and a full bathroom on the upper floor. The bathroom is very large with a unique deck with a big view to the east and south overlooking Cedar Cottage park, which is right next door.

On the main level you’ll find a huge living room with an adjacent den/ kids play area, a separate formal dining room, an extremely cute character kitchen, and a grand entrance/ hallway with a character staircase leading upstairs. This area opens right up to the top floor ceiling, creating a dramatic sense of volume and space. There are also two mudrooms on the main floor, one for both the front and rear entrance.

The current owners have undertaken many upgrades over recent years:

The current owners report that the space is bright throughout the year. “In the summer you never need to turn on a light inside because the house is flooded with amazing sunshine! It is unique in that it is an old house but has very large windows and no super close neighbours. The house gets tons of light from three sides. One of the best features of the space…”

There is a large deck off the back of the house with plenty of space for seating, dining and extra space for kids to run around. The deck surface is a composite material that is very low maintenance. It’s east facing with excellent southern exposure too, which is great for gardening. There are mature Concorde grape vines growing above the seating area, which are very productive.

Under the deck, there is secure bike storage. There are lots of other storage options as well. There is a front crawlspace accessed from outside, front and back mud rooms, and a basement storage room.

The location of this house is outstanding. Walkability, bikeability, and transit is all excellent. Again, from the current owners: “You really don't need a car when you live here. It’s steps to the bike path on 10th, steps to the bus lines on Broadway, and a 7 minute walk to Commercial/ Broadway Skytrain station… The whole neighbourhood is extremely walkable which was great with a baby this past year. Walk to groceries, coffee shops, and restaurants on the drive.”

There are a lot of great green spaces in the immediate area. Right next door is Cedar Cottage Park which is undergoing plans for a redesign, and across the street is China Creek Park. A 15 minute walk will get you to Trout Lake Park. Clark Park is also great and very close by.

The immediate neighbourhood is described as very family friendly. There are reportedly lots of young families in the neighbourhood supporting community events like block parties etc.

This house represents great value for a single family home in a prime neighbourhood as it’s located on Clark Drive. This stretch of Clark is traffic calmed by the landscaped division between northbound and southbound lanes, and by the three traffic lights between 12th and Broadway. There is also the crossing of the 10th Avenue bike route which is passable only by foot and bike traffic and is pedestrian controlled. In sum, these measures slow traffic down considerably keeping the energy of the street slower, more muted and controlled.

There is also value potential in the zoning and new directions in civic development policy. Many land assemblies are occurring on larger traffic arteries as the city continues to densify. This may provide a great return on investment in the future.

This is one of those rare opportunities to get into a character, freehold, single family home, in excellent condition, three blocks from Commercial Drive at an unbeatable price. We don’t often see these combination of attributes come up.