Colourful new signs, a Chinese language website, and listings with hotel booking services are fueling speculation about the future of a luxury home in Langdale.
The 21,000 square-foot (1,951 sq. m) chateau-style mansion on 61 acres (25 ha) was built in the early 2000s, and has become a landmark on the hill above the Langdale ferry terminal. It seems now that it may be destined for something other than the millionaire’s country retreat it was originally built to be.
The property at 1393 Port Mellon Highway was sold in June of 2015 for just over $6.6-million (it was assessed at $5,316,100 in 2015).
A note in the Globe and Mail’s Done Deals real estate feature, published shortly after the sale, said the property was purchased by “an offshore Chinese buyer” who also had a home in Vancouver’s Shaughnessy neighbourhood.
Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia documents show the property is owned jointly by Xuanwen Yang and Weiguo Jin. The title listing describes them as “businessmen” with mailing addresses in Vancouver.
This spring, the chateau started showing up on accommodation booking services like Expedia, Booking.com and Travelocity under North America Royal Aristocratic Castle, with room rates anywhere from $250 to $988 nightly.
The property is classed under the Sunshine Coast Regional District’s RU3 (Rural Use 3) zoning, which will soon change to the new AG (Agriculture) Zone. Much of the property is also within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).
RU3 (and AG) property owners can operate bed and breakfasts under restrictions that include: no more than two bedrooms per dwelling, no rooms bigger than 28 square metres (301 sq. ft.), only one small sign outside, must be operated by the principal resident, and only one non-family member of that resident can be employed.
Officials with the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) said they have been following up with the owners on at least one bylaw complaint, but did not say if it was related to renting out rooms.
The property is also featured on a webpage hosted by BCBay.com, a Chinese-language news site carrying a lot of real estate stories from B.C. and the rest of Canada. Viewed through Google Translate, the webpage appears to show plans for future development, while making a pitch to potential investors and hospitality industry workers.
Ian Winn, SCRD director for West Howe Sound, said he has been approached by some constituents who have seen the website and are concerned.
The SCRD said they haven’t had any formal applications for rezoning or development permits but there have been “inquiries” from the owners.
Coast Reporter contacted the property owners to get more information about their plans, but they would not speak on the record.
It appears, though, that future development of the property may have been in the works from the time of the purchase.
The feature on BCBay.com makes reference to the North America Sunshine Tourism Corporation. The same Xuanwen Yang listed on the title of the property registered the company in June of 2015, around the same time the sale was going through.
Coast Reporter has also been told that the images and descriptions on the website for the North America Royal Aristocratic Castle are similar to documents in circulation at the time of the deal.
Questions have also been raised in the community about another property deal in the same part of Langdale. The YMCA of Greater Vancouver confirms it has a sale agreement in place for more than 200 acres (81 ha) of property in the area above Langdale Elementary. The deal is not yet finalized, and the YMCA has not said who the potential buyer is.
At press time on Wednesday Coast Reporter learned that the signs along the highway that sparked public interest in the mansion had been taken down.
