Douglas Todd: The deterioration of West Vancouver’s wealthy Ambleside Village

David Marley describes the scores of restaurants, clothing stores and other retail outlets that have closed over the years as he walks along the six blocks of Ambleside Village.

The commercial zone on Marine Drive is located in tony West Vancouver, home to 42,000 people living in some of the most expensive real estate in Canada. The median cost of a home for sale is $3.6 million.

But Ambleside’s commercial district has been long deteriorating, especially, as Marley and others say, as a place for residents to buy locally. He has watched the slow devolution of the beachside village in the 32 years his family has lived in the neighbourhood, which is just minutes from Lions Gate Bridge.

Although Marley emphasizes Ambleside Village is not a disaster and he enjoys many outlets that remain, it doesn’t take effort for him to point to at least four empty storefronts. He also shows the many ways the village’s once-practical shops and small cafes have been replaced by a large number of chic-looking real-estate offices and currency exchanges, and a plethora of nail and hair salons.