The owners hope to be selling resort-condominium units in the renovated Fairwinds Landing building at the Schooner Cove Marina by the end of this year.
“Completion of this building will take about eight months and we’re ready to go as soon as we get the permits,” said Ian Porter, director of real estate for Seacliff Properties which purchased the entire Fairwinds property in July 2015.
Porter was showing off the huge open space and steel frame construction of the main “old hotel” building at the marina during a very well attended open house last Wednesday, Oct. 12.
The “old hotel” building had originally been slated for demolition until they found the impressive structure was built by Dominion Steel, a company that built bridges, Porter said.
He said the main point of the open house, since they didn’t require any public consultation steps, was to show the public their plans. He said the main response from the neighbourhood was, “how soon can I buy a unit?”
He said they initially planned to fill the entire building with commercial uses, but didn’t find enough demand from potential owners, so they will now use half the building for 11 resort-residential condos.
The condos will be sold “on a 100 per cent ownership basis,” but people will only be able to use them 90 days a year and they will be in a “managed rental pool when not owner-occupied.”
The building will include a coffee shop, convenience store and pub/restaurant. He said they are still negotiating with an independent pub operator, but Fairwinds will open and operate one itself if they don’t have something arranged by the building’s completion.
The initial building renovation will be closely followed by the construction of a 35 unit residential complex behind the existing building.
The Fairwinds property includes the golf course, 700 homes and zoning approval for 2,100 more home sites on 750 acres of undeveloped land.
A full build-out could more than double the population of Nanoose Bay.
Jeremy Holm, RDN manager of current planning said they don’t have a development permit application for the Fairwinds project yet, but suggested once they do, depending on how many details need to be worked out, it could be processed in six to 12 weeks.
