A 215-unit residential development planned for the Beach Gardens Resort and Marina has been on the books for years and is coming closer to reality.
At the City of Powell River Council meeting on April 3, staff members were directed to prepare draft bylaws that would amend the city’s sustainable official community plan and zoning bylaw to facilitate the development.
Jack Barr, chief executive officer of Seaboard Hotels, owner of the Beach Gardens complex, said the plans are for a phased development, with the property being rezoned from RM3 to RM4, which will provide a little more flexibility on how the densification can be laid out.
“I foresee two- and three-storey structures along the highway, apartment-building style and condominium style, and the balance would be a series of four-plexes,” said Barr, in an interview with the Peak. “With the natural grade of the Beach Gardens going down toward the ocean, decks on buildings will have a sunny ocean view. It lends itself beautifully to some pretty amazing homes.”
Barr said in terms of the conceptualization of the project, he was rifling through some paperwork and there was an old drawing. Barr said his father, Dick, died in 2007, and he had a density map and plan prior to that.
“It would have been 2002 to 2004, when there was the envisionment of the level of density there, but it has taken a long time; you don’t just go into this willy-nilly,” said Barr. “Real estate development is not for the faint of heart, so you want to make sure the time is right, the market is right, and the plans are right. There’s many moving parts that go into this and it does take time. It’s such a gorgeous site and it would be criminal not to do something and not to utilize this space for more housing that is desperately needed in Powell River.”
The property has not been in use for decades. At one time, a drive-in movie theatre was located on the Beach Gardens lands prior to construction of the resort building. Barr said the property is about 11.5 acres in total and the area to house the multi-unit residential development would be about 6.9 acres. If the rezoning goes through, the new property line would run almost directly through the existing building where the distillery on the property is right now, he added.
Barr originally started working with the architects for the development just prior to COVID-19. He said he had always looked at areas such as above the Park Royal Shopping Centre in West Vancouver, where residences are terraced on a steep slope.
“That’s always attracted me,” said Barr. “Having something like that was kind of the impetus for this.”
Unlike West Vancouver, however, Barr resisted the development of luxury homes on the Beach Gardens property. The original plan was to have residences starting in the $500,000 range, but Barr said he does not believe there are going to be $500,000 units.
“The cost of construction from 2019 to now has more than doubled,” said Barr. “So, unfortunately, I don’t think you’re going to see a $500,000 unit.”
Even so, Barr believes there will be an eager waiting list as soon as development can occur. He said people beyond the qathet region could be interested, where they could own a home, keep their boat at the marina, and have amenities close by.
“You could live here and not really have to leave the property for a week at a time,” said Barr.
He estimated the project is probably three to four months away before the rezoning comes before city council. When that has been done, there is a lot of other work that has to be completed before housing construction occurs, such as putting in roads and servicing the lots.
“We could build four units at a time, and if the market goes down, you stop, or if you get a lineup of people who want to pre-buy, then we can accommodate that,” said Barr. “You really just build it as you go.”
Barr said there are two components to the Beach Gardens property – the residential development and the renewal of the hotel. On the lower property, he’d like to start building new cabins or new rooms within 18 months. He said any work on the residential development is probably two years away.
“It’s down the road for sure, but it’s an active file,” said Barr.
He believes strongly in the potential of the Sunshine Coast, being on the board and serving as past president of the Sunshine Coast Tourism Association.
“I’ve spent the better part of a decade promoting the upper coast and the lower coast, and Powell River in general,” said Barr. “It would be great to see some industry come back to where the mill site was situated and to create some more jobs. It would also be great to have some new homes to place all those people. The community is alive.”
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