22. - Sunday, October 6, 1985 - North Shore News _ Waterford House Michael Audain | f An interview with Michael Audain, president of Polygon Properties Limited, the developer of Waterford House, a luxury condominium located at 1972 Bellevue Avenue, West Vancouver. Q. Waterford House has been the talk of the West Vancouver real estate market in the past year as ~ people saw it rising 20 stories above the seawall. What prompted Polygon to build this luxury apart- ment building on Bellevue Avenue at a time when the housing market was in a bit of a slump? A. That's simple, when you have such a unique and choice waterfront location, there is never really a bad time to build. No matter how poor the econ- omy, there are always people who demand and can afford the best in a place to live. Q. I have heard stories about your sales success which vary from people who say that you are al- ready sold out to others who assert that sales have been a disaster. What's really happening? A. Well, lam pleased to set the record straight. The building was completed in July. We have now sold a total of 18 of the 31 residences and we have a couple of the remainder on hold. Q. Wow! Such a sales achievement is quite excep- tional these days. You must be very satisfied? A. Yes, Waterford House has done very well. But, if the resale home market had been stronger, we would have probably been sold out on completion. Some of our prospective purchasers just couldn't sell their homes for the price they had in mind. Q. Is this still a problem? A. Fortunately, the West Van resale market has turned around in the last couple of months, Re- ~ cently, we had an instance of a purchaser selling their present home within a week of listing it on the market. I guess it's a case of people also be- coming more realistic about what their home is worth today: *Q. What about Waterford prices? Are they really all over $400,000? A. Notatall! We have several residences priced in the mid-$300,000's and we even have a one bed- - room apartment that caf be bought for $298,000. Q. Almost $300,000 fora one bedroom, vou've got to be kidding? : A. Well. it's probably the largest one bedroom apartment in Greater Vancouver! It actually has a larger living area next to the ocean than some of ~ our three bedroom residences. {In fact, we split the living room into three for one purchaser! There is also a den which could also be used as a spare bedroom in a pinch. Q. I have heard several favourable comments about Waterford House's appearance. As | am sure you know, many West Vancouver people are against building more bigh-rises, but they say (hat least this one does not look like a shoe box? A. Thank you. [think that Romses Kwan Architects did a fine job of designing a very attractive building. Perhaps itis the brick facade that helps. We agon- ized for several weeks over the colour of the bricks. Finally | chose an amber rose brick made from clays found in eastern Washington State. It seems to have come off quite well combined with the white concrete base. Q. You also used a number of other imported materials, | believe? A. Oh. yes. We selected some of the best materials from Canada and abroad. The entrance lobby floor is pernise marble from Italy The hardwood floors in the kitchens come from West Germany. A number of tite Koehler plumbing fixtures are imported from the US., and some of the lighting comes from Sweden. Q. Could you describe the layout? A. There are two apartments per floor, each witha large living room on the ocean side. The two bed- room units are approximately 1,600 square feet and the three bedroom units are about 1,800 square feet. If anyone is seriously interested, we would welcome their making an appointment to visit the Waterford House, Q. Can lask what type of people have been buying? A. As I think you would expect, they are largely senior executives or retired people moving out of large homes into a residence closer to shopping and amenities such as the library and the seawall. They are mainly West Van people although one or two purchasers are couples with international busi- ness interests who need a pied a terre in British Columbia. Q. What do you think attracted them to Waterford: House? ;