News Release - Saturday, September 20, 2008
Douglas Cowell
Special to The Sun
OCEANSIDE VILLAGE RESORT
Project location: Parksville
Project size: 70 part-time-occupancy cabins
Cabin size: 865 sq. ft. - 1,100 sq. ft.
Prices: $239,900 - $259,900
Telephone: 1-888-243-1071
E-mail: sales@oceansidevillageresort.com
Web: oceansidevillageresort.com
Developer: Shorewater Estates Ltd.
Architect: M.W. LaFoy, Parksville
Occupancy: Phase 2, autumn
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Rob Hill and his family have been building and managing holiday resorts for decades. One of the earliest resorts the family developed was a remote fishing lodge in Nunavut. Driving as close as he could get to it took him through northern Saskatchewan and through Waskesiu, a long-time resort in Prince Albert National Park. He checked it out and found that cabins were the main type of abode -- the old cabin-at-the-lake approach.
"It works well up there. People like the idea of not living in an attached building. There's room for the kids to play outside."
He thought about the Parksville area and how historically multi-residence buildings have been the norm for the recreation market. "I decided that there was a probably a need for detached cottages in this area," he explains. That was the beginning of Oceanside Village Resort.
A short walk from the beach and set in the forest, Oceanside Village Resort is a quiet enclave of cottages.
"We wanted to make it easier for people to be more sociable, so we built the cottages on crawl spaces. That raises them up so people feel comfortable to sit out on their deck," Hill explains.
It certainly seems to have worked. On a stroll through one recent summer morning children were playing together, a group of women sat out front of the little coffee shop sipping their lattes and chatting. Three men were doing likewise on a patio of one of the cottages. Life was peaceful.
That's important for those who want (or need) a nice long rest, but for those for whom a change is as good as a rest, there are an abundance of interesting and amusing options. For decades the Parksville area has been a favourite holiday spot. The long beaches and vast tidal sand flats were the first attractant. That and the fishing.
Things haven't changed so much today. The beach and the ocean are still a mighty draw. But over the years the community has come up with many other things to do.
How about six golf courses within a 10-minute drive? (A 36-hole mini-golf course is next door the Oceanside property). There's horseback riding, hiking, caving, kayaking and on and on. Recently the municipal government has been sprucing up the town and has a truly great kids' playground in the city park.
Perhaps one of the coolest things about Parksville as holiday resort is as a base for some great day tripping. It's two hours down to Victoria; about the same out to Long Beach and Tofino/Ucluelet. The rather artsy Comox Valley (Courtenay, Comox and Cumberland) is about an hour away.
In winter, an hour and a half puts you into the Mount Washington parking lot and access to a great day of downhill or cross-country skiing.
Your home base ain't so shabby either. The cottages come in one of five floor plans from 865 to 1100 sq. ft. They're either two-bedroom layouts or one bedroom and a loft. They are anything but rustic.
They all have large windows and vaulted pine ceilings, carefully chosen carpets, ceramic tile in bathrooms and kitchen, multiple televisions and electric fireplaces. The kitchens have the full complement of quality appliances and are large enough to host family celebrations and supper with the neighbours.
One of the most loved features, whether you've just spent a summer's day on the sand flats or a chilly day on the slopes at Mount Washington, is the washer and dryer stack in each cottage.
Most of the current recreation property developments are built around some form of shared ownership. Not this one. Each of the cottages are owned outright by a single owner. Mind you that owner may be a family group, four or five friends or whatever combination works.
While the management company that runs the resort insists that the outside of the buildings remain as they have designed and decorated them, owners may do whatever they wish with the interiors. While the project has chosen a local design team to create interiors and most owners seem to accept their suggestions they are free to go their own way if they wish.
The ownership situation is a little different than, for instance, how you own your main house. While you own it outright it is set in an area zoned for resorts. The downside is you can't choose to live there year round; the maximum is six months a year.
The upside is that in peak season the amount of rent you can earn in a week is roughly equal to what you'd make in a month in a residential area. Most buyers intend to use their property for only a few weeks a year, making it available for rental the rest of the time. That's certainly the intent of the management company that runs the resort. Through the summer months the resort tends to be full with a combination of renters and owners.
One family that are new owners are the Hicks family from Kamloops: Kelly and Derek and their children Vanessa, Jonathon and baby Matt. Kelly explains that she used to holiday in Parksville when she was a girl. "We were considering buying something out at Tofino but then realized that the beaches and the water were too cold for the children to really enjoy."
She remembered Parksville and quickly found Oceanside Village. "It's awesome for the kids to have this as part of their childhood. They love playing for hours down on the beach and for me being able to walk for miles along a warm beach brings back many sweet memories from childhood."
"The cottage is really nice and it's perfect for our family. We can sleep eight if we need to and the kids can make all the sounds that kids do and not bother anyone. It's way better than a hotel. It's a quiet little complex most days with everyone off on adventures."
Kelly and Derek intend to use it once or twice a year and to share it with their families. Already both sets of their parents have used it and intend to use it more. The rest of the time it's up for rental and that income is increasing. So far it's covering all their ownership costs several months a year and is increasing.
Kathy Fraser, the frenetic resort manager, has a plethora of stories: some owners never rent out. Some she's never seen; they bought strictly as an investment and their units are always in the rental pool. Some come only in winter or the shoulder seasons and rent all summer long. "Winters are getting really busy," she explains. "More and more retirees are coming for one to even four months. They settle in each year and set up networks and groups of friends that reconnect every year." These are the people that are helping the Hicks cover more of their costs each year.
The original resort was started three years ago and has proved to be great success. All 70 of the cabins sold out quickly and the project has settled down into an enjoyable little community for all involved.
But it only used half of the land the developer had there. The developer was quietly watching to see how it turned out and has now happily launched into phase 2.
Construction of another 70 cabins is under way and will simply enlarge the development.
The designs are the same as the original ones except for a few tweaks here or there. Why spoil a good thing? The prices will be the same.
surroundings that inspired
us build the resort, we are
making it our priority to take
care of them by implementing
sustainable practices.