The Lakestone residential development in Lake Country reached a milestone last week.
The project developer, Macdonald Development Corporation, unveiled the Bellamy Homes and Noba Vision showhomes on Thursday to invited guests followed last Saturday by an opening to the general public.
“We are thrilled for the unveiling of the first show homes at Lakestone,” said Jason Koverchuk, director of sales and marketing.
“The success of the Waterside neighbourhood signifies the momentum Lakestone has seen over the last 19 months and we are confident we will continue to see success.”
Koverchuk said the Lakestone master planned community, which will see 1,200 lots developed within eight distinct neighbourhoods and provide homes to about 3,000 people when completed, has been a major endeavour to undertake.
The developer acquired the land in 2010, and spent some three years reconfiguring the land for housing construction, getting the approvals needed and working out the details of its master plan.
That master plan was developed to incorporate a series of neighbourhoods, starting with Waterside which has the premier waterfront view lots, with each neighbourhood having unique features.
“We started selling the first lots in 2013 and there were financial targets we had to hit to keep moving forward so that was a bit of a nervous time starting out, but we hit those sales figures target within the first 90 days and things started to happen from there moving forward,” he said.
Macdonald Development is no stranger to building developments in the Okanagan, having done High Point in Kelowna adjacent to Knox Mountain Park, Outback in Vernon, The Lakes in Lake Country and The Cove in West Kelowna.
Koverchuk says any new development always presents a learning process, especially when dealing with waterfront lots on Okanagan Lake and trying to get approvals for features such as boat mooring buoys and a boat dock, but he says the planning process for Lakestone has benefited from the company’s past local developments.
“Everything is a process, but when you have built up previous relationships from other projects and know the people you are involved with in getting the various approvals, it does help,” he said.
Koverchuk said the Waterside development is 85 per cent sold out, with a dozen lots still available in the $800,000 to $1 million price range. Waterside will also boast a $3.5 million clubhouse along with that boat moorage provided by 25 buoys and five deep water dock boat slips equipped with mechanical boat lifts.
As the 559-acre development moves upland from the water, Koverchuk said the lots will lower in price and there will be condo and townhome options.
“Obviously the waterfront lots are the most expensive, but when people say I can’t afford that, I tell them to keep us in mind, as we will eventually have lots available to meet a wide range of price points as the new neighbourhoods come on stream,” he said.
The next neighbourhood, which is still unnamed, will be accessed off Okanagan Centre Road West via Tyndall Road, accommodating 225 homes. Those lots will likely come on the market in late fall or next spring.
Koverchuk said while there are development bylaws in place, the overall concept behind Lakestone is to allow builders and their clients to create customized homes.
“Our goal is to develop the land, put the landscaping infrastructure in place, and connect the buyers with builders and let them do what they do best,” Koverchuk said.
He said Lakestone’s future build-out is tied to Lake Country’s growth, something he feels the municipality is well prepared for.
“Lake Country did a lot of infrastructure in the late 2000s to get ready for this, with the Main Street and commercial zoning put in place,” he said.
“You are starting to see things pick up in Lake Country. When you see developments like Lakestone bringing 3,000 new residents, and there are other master planned developments in the works for the community, people are moving here and that is going to spur economic growth for the community.”
Besides the available land for residential development, Koverchuk feels Lake Country’s central location, close to the airport and even close to downtown Kelowna, bodes well for the community’s future growth.
“That appeal is particularly beneficial to Lakestone because living here, you are five minutes away from IGA or Cooper’s in Winfield, and the airport is close by which is drawing oil and gas industry workers to us from Alberta.
“You may have to work there, but if you had a choice between living in Alberta or here in the Okanagan, where would you want to live? It’s about having the opportunity to live where you want to live.”
The Lakestone showhomes are available to view Wednesday to Sunday, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The sales centre is open every day except Friday.
For more information, see www.lakestoneliving.com.