BC Business on Vancouver's up-and-coming Modernist Market

BC Business on Vancouver’s up-and-coming Modernist Market

The West Coast Modern Home enters the business conversation

Business news is now taking notice of Vancouver’s up-and-coming modernist market. In a new feature, BC Business highlights the Perry Estate—Arthur Erickson’s 1963 retreat in North Vancouver, saved from demolition and entrusted to new custodians through West Coast Modern.

As West Coast Modern co-founder Trent Rodney reflects in the article, “We’re so quick to go, ‘Let’s get rid of all the old stuff,’ but then you go forward 70 years and it’s all gone. So now’s the time to say, ‘Hey, we can grow the city, but let’s also not forget where we come from.’”

This coverage marks a shift: what was once a niche cultural pursuit is becoming an economic force. Vancouver is entering a similar trajectory seen in Palm Springs and Los Angeles, where architectural custodianship grew into a global business market.

"Four years ago, West Coast Modern co-founder Trent Rodney stood at the chain-link fence of The Perry Estate, calling out in hopes of reaching the owners of the remarkable property. No one answered, but Rodney left knowing this home needed to be brought into the spotlight."

– BC Business

“While custodianship and homeownership may sound similar, Rodney describes custodianship as holding onto a home for the next generation. In cities like Los Angeles or London, architectural custodianship is far more established than in Vancouver—something West Coast Modern hopes to change.

We have some of the best architecture in the world, yet we haven’t hit that big stride yet. But a lot of people are starting to look at Vancouver as the mid-century modern market to buy into.”

— BC Business