Ecoasis Developments LLP bought Bear Mountain Resort Community out of receivership five years ago and is now considering a sale of the landmark golf resort near Victoria.
Last month Ecoasis hired commercial broker Jones Lang LaSalle to conduct a review of the resort that could result in the sale of the property or new investors.
The residential resort covers 772 acres of land with an existing community of more than 3,000 residents located about 15 minutes from Victoria.
A master plan would boost the area population by about 7,000 over the next 15 years with a mix of new houses, townhomes and condos.
The community also includes two Nicklaus Design golf courses, a Westin hotel, a fitness centre and health spa. “The principals of Ecoasis are primarily investors; they’re not developers,” said David Clarke, Ecoasis chief financial officer. “There’s a lot of the community still to build out here at Bear Mountain and we just felt that this was the right time now to engage JLL to review all of the options here.”
Ecoasis specializes in buying and developing residential and resort real estate and has properties in Victoria, Whistler and Hawaii.
The group bought Bear Mountain in 2013 from HSBC Bank Canada after the bank took control from the previous owners when they failed to meet loan payments, according to the Victoria Times Colonist.
JLL senior vice-president Jon Ramscar said the community is about one-third built out and has potential for more homes.
“Without a doubt, [Bear Mountain] is the largest development offering in Victoria. I would go so far as to say it’s likely one of the largest development offerings in Canada in 2017,” he said. “Some of the best land remains available for development.”
Ramscar said the property is essentially ready for an investor and developer to take over, given that much of the development rights and zoning are already in place.
The review process will continue through the rest of the year before any decisions to partner or sell are made, Ramscar said.
