Vancouver Island development offers harbourside living
? SIMON BRIAULT
The Vancouver Sun
Project: Heron View Villas
Project location: 6995 Nordin Road, Sooke
Project size: 91 townhomes, 3 bedrooms, 1,550 — 1,700 square feet, priced between $430,000 and $440,000
Developer: Silvercreek Development LP
Architect: Concept Design Ltd.
Interior designer: Adriana Wooton
Sales centre: On site at 6995 Nordin Road
Hours: noon — 4 p.m. every day except Wednesday
Telephone: 778-425-4130
Website: www.heronview.ca
Occupancy: Fall 2016
Retiring or moving out West is a well-established Canadian trend. But with prices in the Lower Mainland making that dream unaffordable for many, Silvercreek Development believes it’s on to a winner with its resort-style townhome complex in Sooke on Vancouver Island.
When fully built, Heron View Villas will be a development of 91 three-bedroom townhomes of between 1,550 and 1,700 square feet. The community sits on 10 acres of oceanfront property and the developers have had interest from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario, as well as from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
“The biggest selling point here is the West Coast lifestyle that we’re offering,” said Silvercreek’s Bob Vaughan. “The complex is beautifully landscaped and we’re right on the water in the Sooke harbour. There’s a marina right out front. We have a pool, a gym, a hot tub, a sauna and an owners’ lounge, all with unobstructed ocean views. There are also tennis courts on site.”
Silvercreek Development is launching the fourth of 11 phases this summer.
Phase four consists of six 1,650-square-feet townhomes, with prices between $430,000 and $440,000. The homes will be move-in ready by November at the latest and all the amenities at Heron View Villas were completed with Phase 1.
Those amenities were a big part of the appeal for Dave Scott, who is recently retired and bought a townhome at Heron View Villas with his wife after they sold their house in Victoria.
“We were looking for something newer,” he said. “We had an oceanfront home, but it was built in 1975 and, although it was a very nice character home, it was going to need some work. When we came across Heron View, we decided it was exactly what we were looking for.”
“When I retired, we were really looking for a lifestyle shift,” Scott added. “We had a beautiful piece of property, but it required a fair deal of maintenance and by moving into Heron View, we’re now part of a strata and we have all of that stuff taken care of. Now we can just turn off the water, lock the door and go away for a couple of weeks without having to worry about the house.”
Scott explained that he and his wife both grew up in Victoria and are very familiar with the area. They wanted to stay close enough to town to be able to visit their grown-up children, who still live there.
“We were also looking for a slightly slower pace of life,” he said. “My wife was looking at various places between Sooke and Victoria and when she walked into Heron View, she knew immediately that this was exactly what we were looking for.”
“We’re making full use of the amenities on site,” Scott added. “I use the gym every day. We both play tennis and there’s tennis courts right there. I’ve just taken up kayaking and because we’re on Sooke harbour right by the water, it’s very easy for me to put a kayak in and go out for a paddle for an hour or two.”
Quite apart from the oceanfront location, the developers have taken care to make these homes appealing to downsizers who are used to the comforts of single-family living. The townhomes at Heron View Villas are larger than most. They feature West Coast craftsmaninspired architecture, natural gas barbecue outlets and double car garages. Kitchens come with European cabinets; quartz stone countertops and eating bars; double compartment stainless steel sinks; and deluxe appliance packages.
Main bathrooms feature soaker tubs and shower tile surrounds in select homes, while some ensuite bathrooms feature a one-piece Fiberglas combo tub and shower. There’s also ceramic tile flooring, designer toilets and wash basins, chrome faucets and full vanity mirrors.
But Vaughan is keen to stress that the biggest draw for buyers is the setting and the lifestyle that Heron View Villas offers.
“You’re within minutes of some of the best fishing in the world and 20 minutes away you’ll find a great spot for surfing,” he said. “The scenery is incredible. Drive 45 minutes and you’ll find yourself in a thousand-year-old forest in the Carmanah Valley. Then you can go 40 minutes the other way and you’re in downtown Victoria. It’s just an amazing place to be and I think that’s what’s so appealing for people coming to live here.”
Dave Scott agrees that the setting of Heron View Villas was one of the key things that sealed the deal for him and his wife.
“The quality of the construction is very impressive as well,” Scott added.
“When you live in a townhome complex, you sometimes fear that you’d hear your neighbours, but the construction is such that we’ve yet to hear anybody on either side of us.”
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