Alberta money
Panorama Mountain Village near Invermere reported last week that sales in the first phase of its Trappers Ridge development – set to begin construction next spring – have hit 80% after six months.
But that amounts to sales of just 17 of the 21 units in the project, or about three units a month – less than one a week.
Nevertheless, it’s positive news in a market that has seen U.K. and U.S. buyers disappear in the past five years, and overall conditions soften, reducing prices for some types of homes by as much as 50%.
Trappers Ridge is offering a lot and home from $459,000, versus $650,000 to $2 million for existing homes. Prices in Kimberley have dropped to between $250,000 and $350,000 today from between $400,000 and $600,000 in 2008. The sweet spot in Fernie lies between $300,000 and $450,000.
Philip Jones, owner/broker of Royal LePage East Kootenay Realty in Cranbrook, said proximity to Alberta – the source of 90% of local buyers – has helped sales in the East Kootenay region.
“We’re seeing that for a lot of people the major income earner is working either in the coal mines in the Elk Valley or in northern Alberta in the oilsands or northern B.C. in the energy sector,” Jones said.
With six flights a day from Cranbrook to Calgary and Vancouver, the commute is relatively simple.
Sales at Panorama have been matched at Kimberley, where the year began with perhaps 25 unsold units on the slopes above town. They’ve been almost completely absorbed at a steady pace of about two units every month.
Okanagan living
Meanwhile, in the Okanagan, Greyback Developments Ltd. is optimistic regarding the future of its Skaha Hills development overlooking the Penticton airport.
Greyback launched the project partnership with the Penticton Indian Band Development Corp. in October. The seven-phase project will see 600 homes built on 550 acres above Skaha Lake; the development enjoys a 150-year lease from the Penticton band.
In addition to being adjacent to Highway 97 and minutes from shopping centres and services at the southern end of Penticton, the project will incorporate several commercial elements.
The first of these is a winery to be overseen by Mohamed Awad, former manager of both Black Hills Estate Winery near Oliver and Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort in Osoyoos. Penticton Indian Band members approved the winery in a referendum this fall.
The project echoes the heady days of 2007, when plans for vineyard-oriented developments abounded in the Okanagan.
Calgary-based Stagewest Hospitality will invest $5.2 million in development of vineyards and a winery, which is slated to produce 6,000 cases in 2015. Construction will begin in 2014 and complement a sales centre that will open next spring.
Stagewest also manages the Stoney Nakoda Resort near Kananaskis on behalf of Alberta’s Stoney Indian Band.
Okanagan selling
On the commercial side, the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative recently closed the sale of 7.5 acres on Clement Avenue in downtown Kelowna for redevelopment as Urban Square by Compass Real Estate Development Ltd.
The first phase of the site’s redevelopment will be construction of a 58,000-square-foot facility for Starkhund Brewing Co., followed by redevelopment of a 36,000-square-foot cold storage facility.
The sale price was not disclosed, but proceeds from the sale will fund upgrades the co-op is undertaking at its remaining facilities throughout the Okanagan.
The co-op has been seeking buyers for a number of properties deemed surplus following the 2008 amalgamation of the Okanagan North Growers Cooperative, BC Fruit Packers Cooperative, Sun Fresh Cooperative Growers and Okanagan Similkameen Cooperative Growers Association.
Valuations for the properties that reflected a pre-2008 market hampered the sales, according to Alan Tyabji, who assumed the reins of the co-op in November 2012. He set about implementing a plan that would accomplish deals at more realistic pricing while garnering cash to fund modernization of co-op facilities. •
