After facing material shortages, lumber costs, and various other issues, the Harbourview District development in the south end of Nanaimo has continued despite delays.
According to Ryan Stolz, sales director for Saltbox Marketing, every developer has faced the same issues across the island.
“The building sector had some weird anomalies to it so not only did [those issues] slow down manufacturing of product but it also increased demand for home renovation product,” said Stolz. “Which led to a shortage of generalized materials and that’s what highly influenced the price of lumber for a period of time. More people were home bound so they got more home renovation products.”
Originally planned to be a ten year project, with one building completed every other year, Stolz says current circumstances were like a ‘perfect storm for everybody to be delayed.’
Harbourview District, an ‘urban community made up of mid-rise multifamily buildings’ has been in progress since 2018, and currently has one building completed out of seven.
The named buildings are as follows;
- Outlook- completed 2021
- Prospect- expected completion Winter 2023/2024
- Lumina- expected completion Summer 2024
- Evolve- under design (expected sales launch 2022)
- Cornerstone- under design
- Moto-Tech- planning phase
Outlook, which was completed earlier this year, was pre-sold and is full of tenants. The next building— Prospect, which is currently breaking ground right next door— has already been pre-sold completely. Units can cost between $250,000 to $650,000.
“We’re baffled by the amount of people who are relocating here from the east coast, the prairies, the lower mainland, but also how smart first time buyers are,” said Stolz. “They’re literally seeing an opportunity to invest what little they have now to secure something for themselves in the future. That’s where we’re at, we’re hoping with our pricing matrix and the type of buildings that we’re creating is going to influence the next boom. The housing boom— but it’s the multi family condo. That’s the home of the future here, because families price themselves out.”
Stolz stated that most people coming to Nanaimo and pre-buying the buildings are seeking a lifestyle change.
“That’s kind of the foundation of the concept for Harbourview District’s connected living, and it took on so many different meanings of like, the connectivity to downtown and the connectivity of living in a community that has a really strong social fabric.” Jaclyn Chapman, Marketing Director for Saltbox Marketing. “But also the connectivity to lifestyle, being on Vancouver Island and being able to head to Victoria. That was kind of the premise of our tagline.”
While most of the lots that the buildings are to be built on are empty, Lumina will take down two older homes to be built.
“There were two homes on that property, one of them was deemed a nuisance property, with a burnt down back area,” said Chapman. “Other than that, a smaller home.”
Prospect took down two homes, and will also be removing a taxi stand on the corner, which will be moving into a new stand the developer has reportedly made for them.
The district is expected to bring in between 280 to 450 residents to the south end upon completion.
