Kamloops Real Estate Blog

Tranquille on the Lake, A New Waterfront Development in Kamloops

March 19, 2012 Kirsten Mason Kamloops Real Estate News

Tranquille on the Lake is a former Tuberculosis Sanatorium. It is currently in the early development stages of a comprehensive waterfront village plan. The developers have a grand vision for this large lakefront parcel of land. I came across this website recently and found that their ideas and concepts for this region are very interesting. I thought before looking at what the developers plans are, it would be good to revisit this region’s very rich history.

History of Padova/Tranquille

Tranquille, also known as Padova is located at the eastern bay of Kamloops Lake. It gets its name from the Tranquille River that enters Kamloops Lake in this area. In the 1840’s and 1850’s this area was a main route for fur traders, passing along the north shore of Kamloops lake. The area was largely uninhabited until gold was discovered in 1857. The area was mined for years to follow.

In 1868 the Fortune family developed the first grist mill and sawmill in the area. It was run by a waterwheel using water from nearby Tranquille Creek. The ranch was established in 1878. They successfully ran the mill and farmed until a disastrous fire in 1898. A decade later the ranch was then sold to the Troup Brothers in 1888 where a large 18 room mansion was built to later be repossessed after they went bankrupt in 1892.

Charles T. Cooney and his wife Elizabeth in the meantime had take up land at Tranquille in 1869. The ranches (Fortune and Cooney Families) prospered with cattle, hay and fruit orchards. Cooney passed away in 1917 and his wife in 1942. Their family plot (cemetery) is still kept up by the Provincial Government today.

Ranch into Hospital

As early as 1897 the Fortune family was taking in TB patients at their ranch. The Fortunes sold their ranch in 1907 for $57,000. The hospital was officially named the King Edward Sanatorium but was known as the Tranquille Sanatorium. Many residents of Kamloops opposed the Sanatorium.

Construction on the property began in 1908 with the new main building, the hospital and administration building in 1912, nurses residence in 1913 and the east and west pavilions in 1914 and 1915.

The CN Railway along the north side of Kamloops lake was completed in 1915 making this area more accessible.

The government purchased the Cooney farm in 1922.

The Sanatorium was a very self sufficient entity for decades operating both as a hospital and farm. There were as many as 40 buildings on the property. Tranquille housed over 600 patients and staff at one time. The BC Health Minister closed the Sanatorium in March of 1958.

After closing the Sanatorium in 1958 it was reopened in 1959 and then became the home of an institution for mentally ill patients. There was a large movement for deinstitutionalizion in the 1980’s which led to it’s closure in 1984.

Historical information gathered from: Kamloops Museum & Archives and Jordan Keats Blog

The Developer’s Vision for Tranquille

A lakeside village, urban farm, dynamic, sustainable community, breathtaking aquatic landscapes and pristine shorelines are all phrases the developers use to describe their vision. This lakeside community will feature a local market, public trail network, public beach, working farm, local artisans, eco friendly living, boat launch, marine ecology research centre and beachfront cafes all set among residential properties.

The developers have defined three areas where residential homes will be built and sold. Click here to view their neighbourhood plan. Each neighbourhood will have it’s own distinct personality. The village is still in it’s planning stages and there are not yet any properties for sale currently.

The plan sounds great. I really like the ideas they have for this property. It is however going to take years to develop. I do believe that once these plans are put into play they will create a fabulous community.

The developers have built new buildings on the site, refurbished some of the pre-existing homes and dealt with some of the environmental issues such as asbestos and lead paint. There is farming activity right now. Currently there are hay fields and produce (cantelope, blackberries, cherries, grapes and more).

Kamloops lake is a vast body of water stretching for miles. Motorized boats are permitted on this lake. This is one of the closest bodies of water to Kamloops and for the most part is very undeveloped due to the fact that it is mainly surrounded by either steep cliffs or railways. The nice thing about this property is that the CN tracks are not very close to the development site. People will not have to cross any tracks to access the property.

There is space currently available in the heritage barns that have been refurbished on the property. The developers have a nice website set up for this project where you can sign up for further information on the residential plans, becoming a part of the artisan market, volunteer and/or be a part of the planning process. Click here to sign up on their site.

YouTube video from the developers. Link

A video and story provided by CFJC TV7. Link

Bank Regulator Moves on Mortgages, The Globe and Mail

March 19, 2012 Kirsten Mason Mortgage Information

This article came from the Globe and Mail on March 19th, 2012 and was written by Tara Perkins and Grant Robertson.

Canada’s banking regulator is looking at instituting new rules to ensure that banks know enough about borrowers before giving them a mortgage.

The draft rules, which the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has put out for comment, are designed to ensure that banks are collecting detailed information about a borrower’s identity, background, and willingness and ability to pay their debts on time before they approve a mortgage. In addition, the proposed rules deal with due diligence the banks should conduct on the value of the property that the mortgage would be for.

For example, OSFI says lenders should be doing an assessment of a prospective borrower’s assets (mutual funds, savings etc), anticipated living expenses and property ownership expenses such as maintenance costs. Banks should also assess whether the borrower will likely be able to keep up his or her income until the mortgage is paid off.

Notably, the regulator has issued a warning to banks about home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs, noting that while they can provide consumers with an alternative source of funds, “these products can also significantly add to consumer debt loads.”

Both Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney have been issuing warnings about the rise in Canadian consumer debt levels, and the potential problems that high debt levels could create both for individual borrowers and the greater economy once interest rates rise.

“While some borrowers may elect to repay their outstanding HELOC balances over a shorter period of time relative to the average amortization of a typical traditional mortgage, the revolving nature of HELOCs can also lead to greater persistence of outstanding balances, and greater risk of loss to lenders,” OSFI said. “As well, it can be easier for borrowers to conceal potential financial distress by drawing on their lines of credit to make timely mortgage payments and, consequently, present a challenge for lenders to adequately assess credit risk exposure.”

OSFI is also asking banks to step up the amount of public disclosure they provide when it comes to their mortgage portfolios. This includes details on the lengths of their mortgages, the proportion that are insured, average loan-to-value ratios, and a discussion about the potential impact on their portfolio of an economic downturn.

The OSFI report comes as the banking sector is locked in a heated price war over fixed-rate mortgages, with 5-year rates as low as 2.99 per cent and 10-year rates dropping to 3.99 per cent.

Lenders have been scrambling to gain market share in advance of the spring mortgage season, when home buyers tend to start looking for deals.

“It’s an interesting market, I will tell you,” Marcia Moffat, head of home equity financing at Royal bank of Canada, said in an interview Monday.

“What you tend to see is customers are quite savvy in terms of rate, and certainly the fixed rates are a very good deal for consumers, so we are seeing more consumers choosing fixed rates over variable these days, relative to, say, a year ago.”

A variety of banks have introduced cut-rate mortgage offerings, but Ms. Moffat said there are other important items to look at in a mortgage deal than just the rate. Early payment penalties and flexibility on payments are also key factors.

“We’re in somewhat uncertain times these days, this decade is characterized by that. So my main message would be that options and flexibility are important in times like that.”

The banks are still digesting the OSFI draft report, but Ms. Moffat said she supports efforts to bolster lending standards.

“We have quite a disciplined credit adjudication approach,” Ms. Moffat said of the bank’s standards.

Home Sales in Interior/North Outpace Province

March 17, 2012 Kirsten Mason B.C. Real Estate News

Vancouver, BC – March 15, 2012. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that the dollar volume of homes sold through Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC declined 9.6 per cent to $3.4 billion in February compared to the same month last year. A total of 5,923 MLS® residential unit sales were recorded over the same period, a decline of 7.6 per cent. The average MLS® residential price was $574,975 in February, 2.1 per cent lower than in February 2011.

“Sales gains in the interior and the north were offset again in February by less robust demand on the south coast,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. Improving economic conditions in both BC and Alberta are positively influencing consumer demand outside of large urban areas, closing the gap between regional housing markets.”

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume declined 9.2 per cent to $5.5 billion, compared to the same period last year. Residential unit sales dipped 6.8 per cent to 9,828 units, while the average MLS® residential price edged back 2.5 per cent to $557,732 over the same period.

Link to full article

Developer Looks at Building Hotel in Sun Rivers

March 17, 2012 Kirsten Mason Real Estate Information

This article was written by Cam Fortems of the Kamloops Daily News on March 16th, 2012.

A Kamloops developer is in the midst of preliminary work on an 80- to 100-room hotel to be located at the heart of the Sun Rivers commercial and residential area.

Darryl Caunt, president of Mibroc Group of Companies, confirmed Friday he is pursuing the idea, which remains at the conceptual stage.

“It was in the master plan right from the beginning,” Caunt said of a hotel at Sun Rivers. “But that was located farther up the hill.”

Rather than developing the hotel far from the Talasa multi-family development, Caunt said he is looking at including it at the town centre.

“We’re putting concepts together. We still have to attract an owner-operator and flag (affiliation with a chain). We’re putting concepts to paper and have to solicit.”

Sun Rivers, the golf-course and housing development on TIB lands, commissioned an economic study to determine if a hotel is feasible.

“We know the numbers. We know the summary and we know it’s very good,” said Sun Rivers vice-president Leslie Brochu.

“It’s looking exceptionally positive and we’re looking forward to something happening next year.”

Brochu said the study found the Talasa development within Sun Rivers — multi-family units that will be anchored with a commercial and amenity area — was the best location for a hotel.

“We’ve determined the best site is in commercial centre and zoning is there.”

Tourism Kamloops chief executive officer Lee Morris said she’s not surprised at the plans because the local hotel sector has “had a good, five-year run of increases.”

Morris said the hotel would likely cater to a higher-end traveller and the corporate market, seeking views and golf.

She also noted major reinvestment at city hotels, including the new Kamloops Coast Hotel and Conference Centre in Aberdeen and Hotel 540 downtown.

“There’s enough optimism in future growth that reinvestment is happening, and we believe it, too.”

Caunt — a builder and developer who is donating his time as general contractor for a new indoor baseball facility for the Kamloops Minor Baseball Association — said whatever design comes out of planning must ensure residents who purchased units at Talasa are at the forefront and lends itself to creating a busy and vibrant atmosphere.

Mibroc has completed its third phase at Talasa and sold about two-thirds of the homes in that phase.

He also said the hotel won’t affect a commitment to build commercial space and a residents’ centre, including fitness club, what Caunt called “our original commitments to our homeowners.”

« 1 … 643 644 645 646 647 … 781 »