WATCH: A multi-million dollar home on Vancouver Island has been built with a river running though it. As Kylie Stanton reports, its in-house waterway is more than decoration.
If you’ve ever wanted a house with its own river and have $13 million to burn, there might be a property on Vancouver Island for you.
Swanrick Ranch, a pristine oceanfront home in Metchosin, is back on the market three years after it was last sold.
“It’s extremely difficult to find properties of this caliber. It is a world-class property that has 1,400 feet of waterfront. It is just sensational,” says Jim LeBlanc of Engel & Völkers.
The swanky 10,700 square foot home has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms – but it’s the river running through the home that garners the most attention.
“They lay a mat out in the ocean to harness the average temperature of the ocean. That water is drawn through tubes back up into the house into the engineering plant, which either takes heat out of the water or cools it off, and then transfers through the walls and the floors of the house. It keeps it a comfortable temperature and very economical,” says Scott Piercy of Engel & Völkers.
GALLERY: Photos of Swanrick Ranch (courtesy Engel & Völkers)
More than $20 million was spent to create the infrastructure on the property, which helps explain the $13.25 million asking price. But the architect behind it believes it has plenty of practical uses.
“Sometimes it’s used where it can be a collection of single-family homes together. If there’s a lot of heating and cooling demands, it makes a lot of sense,” says Marko Simcic and Simcic and Uhrich Architects.
“It is an absolute steal, based on all the stuff involved in the property,” says LeBlanc.
“It’s a masterpiece for sure.”