The first new building lots in a 1,830-acre mixed-use planned community in the small bedroom community of Lantzville, adjacent to Nanaimo, are being marketed for sale this spring.
“It’s going to be an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise,” Ben Hurlbutt, director of sales and marketing for the Foothills project, said Thursday.
Located on the rocky site’s north end, 77 home lots are priced at between $250,000 and $500,000. They range in size from 0.25 of an acre to two acres and have ocean views, Hurlbutt said.
Lots are not officially for sale at this point, although potential buyers can register their interest. Sales are expected to open in mid-April to early May.
This is the first phase of what is envisioned as a community with 730 homes, a mixed-use village and a 900-acre park. It is expected to be built out over 10 to 15 years, Hurlbutt said.
The Foothills would play a major role in the future of Lantzville, now home to 3,800 residents. By the time the project is built out, the Foothills population will be about 2,000, Hurlbutt said.
In the southwest area of Lantzville, the Foothills represents a large chunk of Lantzville’s land area of 6,886 acres.
The developer is Lone Tree Properties Ltd. of Nanaimo, a subsidiary of Calgary’s Storm Mountain Development Corp.
Foothills began with a different owner. The current owner purchased the site after the previous developer ran into financial trouble as the recession approached, Hurlbutt said.
The first developer spent about $13 million on developing infrastructure on the site, such as roughing in roads, he said.
About $25 million more will be spent on preparing the site in the next 12 months for work such as paving roads and installing sewer and water systems.
Construction of houses would start after the infrastructure work is finished, he said.
A total of $600-$800 million will have been spent on the property by the time the project is finished. That includes home construction, Hurlbutt said.
At this time, the developer has access to water to serve 103 homes, he said. Continuing development beyond that would require finding new water sources on the property, he said.
In the future, Lone Tree might construct its own buildings, including townhomes, at Foothills, Hurlbutt said.
The village will be a community amenity, he said. Possibilities include recreation facilities such as a pool and gym.
Lone Tree anticipates its project will tap into the region’s hot real-estate market. Hurlbutt said marketing efforts are concentrating on the local area.
The District of Lantzville is less than a 20-minute drive from Nanaimo, where the inventory of properties for sale is tight and prices have been rising.
February’s benchmark price for a single-family home in Nanaimo was $444,400 — up by 24.5 per cent from $356,800 for the same month last year.
Last month, 97 houses sold in Nanaimo, down from 126 in February 2016.
Sales in the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board area, which includes Nanaimo, would be higher if there were more homes for sale, board president Janice Stromar said in a statement.
“The Nanaimo market in February was busier than I’ve ever seen. Single-family homes in the $450,000 range are practically flying out the door, and multiple offers are the norm, not the exception,” Stromar said.
Storm Mountain holds other development properties in B.C., including in Cranbrook, Nelson and Bowen Island.
