New condos
When built out, Mariner's Village will be a blend of 375 dwelling units and approximately 100,000 square feet of commercial space, including a medical clinic, as well as a 176-slip marina, boardwalk and public wharf, all in the heart of Sooke.
Mariner's Village marketing manager Darin Chamberlain of Sutton Group West Coast Realty said the project, where units are mostly priced in the $400-per-square-foot range, has drawn a mix of "savvy" investors and owner-occupiers. "Investors are attracted when they see $400 per square foot right on the waterfront," Chamberlain said. He added that Prestige has a bid to provide floatplane services nearby, which he said could boost the investment potential at the development. A retail component is being added, too, but Chamberlain was shy on naming the retailers who will be setting up shop.
A separate ocean-view condominium development, Harbour View Centre, is in the planning process for a 32-suite project, but so far construction has not proceeded past site preparation.
Incentives
Sooke's downtown incentive plan was instrumental in getting the Mariner' - s Village project underway, the developer confirms.
The incentives are in the form a local bylaw that provides for a tax exemption for LEED-standard revitalization projects, waiver of fees and charges and the creation of a capital improvement reserve to encourage commercial and higher-density development in the town centre. LEED-certified buildings could be eligible for a 100 per cent rebate on the municipal property taxes in the first year, 60 per cent in the second and 30 per cent in the third.
For high-density residential, incentives extend to reductions in property taxes and building permit fees and up to 30 per cent cut in development cost charges,
Despite the incentives, not much new commercial real estate development has taken place in the past year, confirms John Vernon, a local Re/Max realtor. The local Shoppers Drug Mart has expanded and there has been jostling of tenants in the downtown retail strip, he said.
The Sooke business community is based in the downtown core and consists of two grocery stores, pharmacies, a hardware store, two shopping malls, several financial institutions and medical services. There are also a number of home-based businesses and a nearly sold-out industrial park.
Low-cost homes
"About 90 per cent of workers in Sooke commute to Victoria," Vernon said, noting that in Sooke, real estate is primarily residential.
The average price of a Sooke detached house, according to the Victoria Real Estate Board, is $380,000, virtually unchanged from a year ago and far below the Greater Victoria average of $647,063.
In Sooke's Sunriver Estates subdivision, new houses start at $340,000, though many are priced in the $600,000 range, Vernon said.
While its proximity to Victoria would suggest a large retirement population, Vernon said a number of young families are also buying in Sooke to take advantage of its recreational opportunities. The beaches from Sooke Harbour along the 74 kilometres of Pacific Marine Circle Route to Port Renfrew, offer spectacular views and fishing, he noted.
Port Renfrew resort plans draws fire
Plans for a large resort project at Port Renfrew near Sooke on Vancouver Island has drawn a wave of protests led by surfers, environmentalists and local First Nations.
The plan's opponents met in Victoria in December for a demonstration against developer Ender Ilkay's plan to build 279 vacation cottages, retail and a recreation centre on the near-500-acre site.
"We are going to start campaigning for a moratorium on the resource lands until they have identified nodes for economic development," said Gordon O'Connor of the Dogwood Initiative, an environmental group that organized the meeting with the Jordan River Steering Committee and Forest Action Network. The meeting was chaired by former federal environment minister David Anderson, according to a report in the Victoria Times Colonist.
Pacheedaht Chief Marvin McClurg is supporting the proposed resort, but other band members said they have not been consulted.
The seven parcels, stretching over seven kilometres beside the West Coast Trail, were bought by Ilkay after the province let Western Forest Products (WFP) take 28,000 hectares of private land on the Island out of tree farm licences.
WFP then put 2,550 hectares of land in the Juan de Fuca electoral area up for sale. The Capital Regional District quickly bought some of the highest-profile land, near Jordan River surfing sites and other popular recreation areas, as parkland.
A new official community plan and land-use bylaws for 132,000 hectares of rural resource lands emphasizes wilderness but potentially allows low-key tourism development and resource extraction.
from Western Investor, February 2011
