Multi-level Lake Club adds to appeal of Okanagan development
Michael Bernard
The Vancouver Sun
Project: Lakestone
Project location: 9295 Okanagan Centre Road West, Lake Country
Project size: Fully serviced lots on 550 acres providing for single-family homes ranging from 2,500 to 6,000 sq. ft. Also available for sale are 12 duplex homes and 10 single-family homes slated for construction
Prices: Lots from under $190,000 to $495,000; duplex homes from $599,000, single-family homes from $865,000
Lakestone developer: Macdonald Development Corp.
Sales Phone: 1-877-766-1213 (toll-free) Office – 250-766-1213
Presentation Centre: 9295 Okanagan Road West, Lake Country
Hours: 11 a.m. — 4 p.m., Sat — Thurs
Website: www.lakestoneliving.com
Occupancy: Lots available for immediate construction starts
Shawn Thomas of Vancouver has his route to retirement well mapped out. It leads to a new home lot with a majestic view overlooking Lake Okanagan.
“I have gone back and forth from the Okanagan as a kid, and since we got married and had a family we went there for summer vacations,” he said. “We had a strong idea of what we wanted, but I hadn’t heard of Lakestone. We spent some time looking looked at a few areas, but very quickly nailed it down to Lakestone.”
The development has a planned build-out of 1,365 homes perched on the hills on the east side of Okanagan Lake between Kelowna and Vernon. To the south are the city lights of Kelowna and the William R. Bennett Bridge spanning the lake.
“It’s going to be a second home, not a recreational property,” said Thomas, who works as a management consultant in the energy field. “Once it is built, it will be second home 20 or 30 per cent of the time, and then within about five years it will be our primary home and we will maintain an apartment in Vancouver.
“It is our ‘slow retirement’ option,” said Thomas, noting that Vancouver’s robust real estate market and rising values of his home and rental properties have made it possible.
Thomas is typical of the demographic who have been visiting and buying at Lakestone this year, says Howard Kruschke, Lakestone’s director of sales and marketing.
Over the last two years, about 40 per cent of sales have been to local residents “buying up”, he said, with the remainder coming from Alberta, Metro Vancouver, the Prairies, Ontario and the U.S. — in that order. But in recent weeks, there has been a shift, “with eight of the last 10 deals involving people from the Lower Mainland” while traffic from Edmonton and Calgary is slowing down.
What buyers are looking for has also changed, Kruschke said, adding that they talk more about making Lakestone their principal home with resort amenities, rather treating it strictly as a recreational property.
That also explains why Macdonald Development Corp. of Vancouver has shifted its focus to such amenities as the 25 kilometres of walking trails it has built throughout Lakestone’s 550 acres or a planned amphitheatre up the hill that will be used for public events.
The developer has a list of preferred builders, including New West Custom Homes Kelowna, Bellamy Homes and Noba Vision, from which buyers can choose. They can also hire their own builder, subject to approval and stringent design specifications set down by Macdonald Development Corp. The theme for the new homes is modern flat-roof, timber and stone architectural design, he said.
For buyers who want to bypass arranging to build their own home, a third party is selling through a realtor 12 duplex villa homes and four single-family homes. The duplexes range from a 2,117-square-foot home with unfinished basement starting at $599,000 to $876,150 for a 2,760-square-foot duplex with a finished basement. Single-family homes are 2,760 square feet. each and are listed for $865,000. “We have had a lot of interest in these,” said Gino dal Ponte of The Property Source Group of Kelowna, adding construction is starting in the next two to three weeks in Lakestone’s Waterside neighbourhood.
As well, at least another six single-family homes about 2,600 square feet in size, are being constructed, and will be available for prices starting from about $1 million, dal Ponte said.
Lakestone has no golf course, but Kruschke noted that serious golfers have access to excellent courses such as Predator Ridge, about 20 minutes away.
The other amenities also hint at the change from the traditional golf-based communities that have dominated developments in the Okanagan for the last few decades. The Lake Club, a multi-level stone and timber structure built into the rocky hillside overlooking the Lake, has a fully equipped fitness centre, a large swimming pool and two hot tubs on an expansive deck, stainless steel locker storage at the lakeside for kayaks and paddleboards, and an outdoor kitchen with barbecues. Another facility, to be called the Summit Club, will feature a basketball, tennis and a pickle ball court.
The beach below the Lake Club has been left largely in its natural state with stones and gravel rather than sand, he said. The emphasis is on swimming, paddle boarding and kayaking away from power boats, which can use another community dock about 150 metres away. The beach is also near a kokanee-spawning site, which Macdonald has contributed to by building pilings.
Lakestone’s location has also been a major draw, with Kelowna’s airport just 10 minutes away. The airport has several flights daily to Vancouver and Calgary and direct flights to Toronto and U.S. cities. Thomas says that he can make it door to door between his Vancouver home and Lakestone by car in under four hours.
Also within easy reach are the ski resorts of Big White and Silver Star, which have excellent historical records for snow conditions.
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