Townhouses, condos and commercial properties have sprung up in the past year in the neighbourhood near the Victoria General Hospital.
Included in the mix is 1900 Watkiss Way, adjacent to Eagle View elementary school. The townhouses are complete and the condo block won't be far behind.
The townhouse are very family friendly. You wouldn't have to drive the kids to school -- push them out of the patio door from the kitchen and watch them do the 100 metre sprint to the school gates. After school, they can amuse themselves in the children's play area in the complex. When they're a little older, you can send them zipping off on bicycles to the nearby grocery store or bakery to pick up whatever you need.
The Galloping Goose Trail is just a couple of minutes away down Talcott Road, offering opportunities for family bike rides or a place to walk a dog.
The back of the homes face Talcott Road or Watkiss Way. The fronts face the middle of the complex and look across the courtyard at the condo block. When the landscaping is complete, it will be a pretty outlook, and all you'll hear is neighbours coming and going, and the children playing.
Inside, the 1,600-square-foot homes are appealing. The kitchen-dining area-family room at the back of the house is large and bright. The cabinets and drawers are equipped with soft-close features. The countertops are quartz with a glass-tile backsplash. Appliances are by Frigidaire.
The living room is separate and at the front of the house, overlooking the central courtyard.
Upstairs, as well as the bedrooms, there's a main bathroom with tub-shower combination, a laundry room with side-by-side washer and dryer underneath cupboards where laundry products can be stored, and a linen closet.
The spacious master bedroom has a walk-in closet and an ensuite bathroom with a shower stall (no tub) and in-floor heating.
The two smaller bedrooms have swing doors on the closets, rather than sliding doors, which limits how close to the wall you can place furniture.
The windows in all rooms are large, letting in lots of light. There's even a skylight over the upstairs landing, so there's natural light even if all the bedroom doors are closed. The space under the skylight could be decorated with house plants if you're fond of indoor greenery.
The neighbourhood has a lot of pluses. 1900 Watkiss is a short drive from the amenities of Westshore -- the Juan de Fuca rec centre and library, the shopping at Millstream Village and Westshore Town Centre, the recreation facilities on Langford Parkway -- and of Uptown and downtown.
And of course, you're in walking distance of the VGH and, just past that, at the corner of Helmken, there's Eagle Creek Village with shops (including Quality Foods and a Cob bakery), Tim Hortons and blocks of offices for professional services so you don't have to go far for medical appointments and banking etc.
Developer: Mamic Developments
Project Manager: Glen Wilson of Searidge Management Inc.
Real Estate agent: Ron Neal of Re/Max Alliance
