SUZANNE MORPHET
Vancouver Sun
A teenager’s preference for school began a chain of events culminating in a waterfront development with a marina and 14 luxury condos.
When 16-year-old Jenna Purdey opted to go to Brentwood College rather than the school in her hometown of Prince George. Purdey’s parents moved to Mill Bay to be closer. And that meant that her father, Andrew Purdey, was in the right place at the right time when a large waterfront lot came on the market.
The lot was crying out for a new marina. The old one had been destroyed in a storm in 2010.
Purdey is president of Ruskin Construction, which specializes in bridges and marine construction. Put two and two together, then fast-forward a couple of years, and you can see The Waterfront at Mill Bay rising from the rubble.
“It was very serendipitous,” says Dave Slang, a partner in Cadillac Homes, the company that Purdey asked to take on the residential component of the project. “They know how to build marinas and we know how to build high-quality townhomes.”
As well as 14 townhomes — three duplexes and a row of eight townhouses — there’s a 92-slip marina and a building on the pier housing a 92-seat Bridgemans Bistro, as well as a store and facilities for visiting boaters, such as showers and laundry.
“Andrew should get the credit for being the visionary and putting the project together,” says Duane Shaw, a partner in the project and Purdey’s brother-in-law, who moved to Mill Bay from the Fraser Valley to manage the marina.
Shaw says the previous owner wanted to develop the land portion of the site and proposed a four-storey, 70-unit condo development, but it failed to get approval.
The current owners never imagined a bigger or denser development, says Shaw, than the one that got approved. Hundreds of people turned out in support of the project at two meetings called to discuss rezoning the property. “It was an easy political decision,” says Slang, in light of the solid community backing.
Now that the first duplex has been built and two more are on the way, the project is finding support from potential buyers, too. “We’ve had more than 1,000 people through our open houses,” says Slang. Four offers to purchase are in the works, including two from Albertans.
“It’s a real wow factor” is how Shaw sums up the show home. “When people walk in they’re really surprised. It’s simply elegant.”
One feature that really grabs people’s attention is a wall of glass framing the Saanich Inlet and Mount Baker beyond. “It’s actually a door, which we bring up from Arizona because they don’t make them here in Canada,” says Slang. “The entire glass wall collapses into one section, so it provides an indoor-outdoor experience the space deserves.”
The units range from 2,040 square feet to 2,200 square feet. Prices start at $795,000 for a townhouse at the back and go up to $970,000 for a duplex unit at the front. The back units still command views since the living spaces are on the top two floors of the three-storey building. Elevators are optional in those units.
Prices were determined by evaluating similar properties around Saanich Inlet, including the Ocean Villas in Brentwood Bay, developed by the Brentwood Bay Lodge and Spa. “They were $650 a square foot and we start at $370 a square foot” says Slang, confident that buyers at The Waterfront at Mill Bay are getting value for money. “Absolutely.”
Slang and Shaw also predict there won’t be another project like this in Mill Bay, partly because the cost of building a marina there is prohibitive. “Mill Bay doesn’t have any other protected coastline,” Shaw says. “Generally, it’s exposed. This location has some protection, but we’ve had to put four million pounds of concrete into the marina to help provide protection.”
Asked what the main attraction is for buyers, both men say there’s no single one, but lifestyle is huge. “If you’re a power boater, you can have your boat parked right in front of your home,” says Shaw, adding that homebuyers will each get a complimentary slip at the marina for one year.
Slang points out the location is just a 35-minute drive from Victoria, a five-minute walk from the village of Mill Bay and its Thrifty Foods store, and part of the beautiful Cowichan Valley.