A rare condo development in the West Shore has caught the eye of a multitude of potential buyers, but not necessarily in the demographics one might expect.
Thirty year-olds have been some of the most interested parties in the Lakepoint One condominium development in Westhills, and that cohort was among the many to get a sneak peek at the development through an early bird information session on Aug. 9.
Developers believe the project has been popular amongst older Millennials for its reasonable starting price, its location near Langford Lake and the new YMCA-YWCA Westhills, and other amenities that lend themselves well to an active lifestyle.
“It’s been interesting, because we didn’t know going in who we were going to see,” said Dale Sproule, the project’s sales and marketing director.
“We thought with the price point that we might see [younger buyers]. One reason we put so many lifestyle amenities in the building was to see if it would stimulate that demographic and it certainly has,” he added.
According to Sproule, developers aren’t necessarily seeing interest from those looking to downsize, but from people of all ages that are hoping to change their lifestyle, with an eye towards living in an area that will allow them to be more active.
Condo amenities include kayak and paddle board storage space, a rooftop terrace and a pet wash area.
The 46-unit Lakepoint One project is the first of two condos being planned for the area.
It’ll be six stories, with the bottom two floors to be used as retail space and the top four for residential.
The second building could be as tall as 15 stories.
The units in Lakepoint One should be ready near the end of 2017 or early 2018.
“We’re already under construction and we’re on budget and on time,” Sproule said.
He believes the strong response from potential buyers – registered potential buyers were lined up outside the project’s showroom well before the information session started – has been the result of a strong market, coupled with demand for a new condominium development.
“There hasn’t really been a new condominium built on the West Shore for quite some time, so we’re a sort of first for that and I think there’s some pent-up demand for that,” Sproule said.
joel.tansey@goldstreamgazette.com
GREATER VICTORIA MARKET UPDATE » MONTH TO DATE AUG. 15/16 COURTESY VICTORIA REAL ESTATE BOARD
» 396 / 741 -- NET UNCONDITIONAL SALES / TOTAL, AUGUST 2015
» 571 / 952 -- NEW LISTINGS / TOTAL, AUGUST 2015
» 2,174 / 3,688 -- ACTIVE RESIDENTIAL LISTINGS / TOTAL, AUGUST 2015