Material Type

Administrative History

Date

1931-

Synopsis

British Pacific Properties Limited was created as a company in 1931 by the Guinness brewing family to purchase, and receive the development rights to 4,700 acres of land on Hollyburn Ridge. The ‘Highlands’ on West Vancouver’s upper levels became known as the British Properties, an exclusive residential development in West Vancouver. In return for these rights, British Pacific Properties agreed to build a crossing from Vancouver to West Vancouver, and through the First Narrows Bridge company constructed the Lions Gate Bridge which opened in November 1938. British Pacific Properties Limited also committed to building the Capilano Golf and Country Club on 165 acres which opened for play in the summer of 1937. The final phase was the commercial development of the property at Taylor Way and Marine Drive. Park Royal, the first regional shopping centre in Canada covered 125,000 square feet when it opened in September 1950, anchored by Woodward’s Department Store. Park Royal was named after an area in London in which one of the Guinness family breweries was located. The shopping centre went through various phases of expansion on both sides of Marine Drive with the south mall opening in 1963 followed by expansions in the 1970s. The black office tower, Kapilano 100, was built in 1974. Park Royal Shopping Centre underwent subsequent renovations after the closing of Woodward’s in 1993, and Eaton’s in 1999. British Pacific Properties Limited started to develop its Whitby Estates property in 1996. In 1999, British Pacific Properties Limited formed British Pacific Enterprises, an in-house building division and turnkey service for custom home development.

Reporting Bodies

British Pacific Enterprises

Repository

West Vancouver Archives

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