Sooke Community and Real Estate Blog 642Blog.ca

Photo credit: sometimes_anna on Flickr

The Capital Regional District (CRD), along with non-profit The Land Conservancy (TLC) has agreed to buy up more than 2300 hectares (nearly 5700 acres) of land that was slated to go up for sale today. The land, belonging to Western Forest Products (WFP) has been the subject of much controversy in our area since the provincial government allowed WFP to remove its private lands from a tree-farm license (TFL) in 2007.

The lands being purchased include Sandcut Beach, the Jordan River surfing beach and townsite, and lands surrounding the Sooke River near Sooke Potholes Park.

While some of the land on the interior side of the highway may be sold off to help finance this purchase, most of it will be dedicated as park. One exciting feature of this deal is that the land acquired near the Potholes completes the Sea-to-Sea Green-Blue Belt, which, besides having the distinction of being the most awkwardly-named park reserve/network on the Island, will now stretch all the way from the Sooke Basin to Saanich Inlet.

The land deal is worth nearly $19 million, most of which is coming from the CRD’s parkland acquisition fund, and will be paid over 3 years. The rest of the money will come from TLC, and hopefully, the provincial government, who have been under fire since the land was released from the TFL three years ago. Many see it as an opportunity for the province to right a wrong that caused great controversy.

And speaking of the parkland acquisition fund… this is part of your yearly property taxes. Since it was established in 2000, it has been $10 per household per year, which has been well used in my opinion, protecting  nearly 3000 hectares of land at a value of nearly $31 million. Your contribution to the fund will be going up this year by $2, and will eventually rise to $20 per year, allowing the CRD to purchase lands such as the Jordan River WFP parcels for everyone’s use and enjoyment, forever. I’d happily pay $50 or even $100 per year to pad this fund and enable the special areas in our region to be protected. It’s a great example of taxpayer money going into something we all benefit from.

The deal is still tentative, but is slated to close in August. I’m looking forward to the CRD’s plan and longterm vision for these newly acquired lands.

What’s your take on this announcement? Good, bad, otherwise? State your opinion, but be nice to one another!

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: capital regional district | crd | Ender Ilkay | Jordan River | park | purchase | sandcut beach | Sooke | Sooke Potholes | TFL | TLC | WFP

A beautiful home at Sunriver Estates in Sooke, BC

…And answers to other frequently asked questions about Sunriver Estates in Sooke – one of the most popular new neighbourhoods in the greater Victoria, BC area.

Because I write a lot about Sooke, I get plenty of questions about living here, working here, and of course, about the neighbourhoods. Sunriver Estates is a huge master-planned community on the banks of the Sooke River, sloping up the Sooke Hills with various creeks and other natural features. It’s a very nice looking development, so it’s no surprise that it’s very popular. Also, the lots are larger than most other new developments in our area, so you can have a real back yard instead of a postage stamp. People move out here for the natural beauty, recreational options, quiet lifestyle, and of course the value. It amazes people when they visit Sooke what you get for your money, and how much more a similar house would cost (usually on a tiny lot) in Victoria, or even Langford, just 20-25 minutes’ drive away. Below are some answers to some frequently-asked questions about Sunriver Estates in Sooke.

Q. Is Sunriver Estates a strata development?

A. No, all homes in Sunriver are freehold, fee simple titles (except for the townhouses). Read details in this post.

Q. How many homes have been built at Sunriver?

A. There have been 371 houses built at Sunriver since it broke ground in 2004.

Q. How many homes are planned?

A. There will be 715 houses at Sunriver when construction is completed.

Q. How many more years will construction be taking place at Sunriver until it’s built-out?

A. At the current pace of construction, all homes will be sold and construction complete in approximately 5 years.

Q. What about the building scheme? I’ve heard that boats and RVs, etc are not allowed? Who enforces it?

A. The building scheme at Sunriver allows boats and RVs, etc, but stipulates that they must be behind a fence, lattice, or other sort of screening so that they don’t clutter up the character of the neighbourhood. The developer has sent out letters to offending properties asking them to comply. To date no one has been fined or needed action beyond the letter.

Q. Are any condominiums planned for Sunriver?

A. No, condos are not being built at Sunriver Estates. There are some very nice townhouses at The Pointe, and there may be a few more built.

Q. Will there be any commercial space built at Sunriver? Neighbourhood shops, cafes, etc?

A. When construction is completed, the sales centre will be sold off as commercial space. It will be up to the buyer (and Sooke zoning and business bylaws) what goes in there. Anything is possible – cafe, restaurant, pub? Who knows!

If you have any more questions about Sunriver Estates or other areas in Sooke or would like information about homes for sale in Sunriver Estates and Sooke, give me a call at 250-885-0512, email Tim@TimAyres.ca or fill in my contact form!

Do you live in Sunriver? What’s your favourite thing about living there?

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: condos | Development | estates | FAQ | homes | how many homes | new | Sooke | Sun river | Sunriver | tim ayres | townhouses | Victoria

Sooke 2010 Booth Under Construction

With just 10 days to go until the 2010 Olympic Winter Games open in Vancouver, the excitement is growing and reports from Vancouver indicate the atmosphere on the streets is electric as athletes, supporters, and visitors are already arriving in town.

Sooke is one of several British Columbia communities taking part in the B.C. Street exhibition, which is taking place throughout the Games at the Richmond O-Zone, just minutes away from the speed skating oval and a short ride from the airport or downtown on the Canada Line.

A team of artists, designers, visionaries and builders have been hard at work in the Sooke Fire Hall building what is sure to be an amazing display of the Sooke to Port Renfrew region.  The display is about 40 feet long and is designed around the theme “Wild by Nature.” It will feature an “ocean” and “beach”, trees, and boardwalk, overlooking a 40×8 foot panoramic photo of Sooke Harbour. A killer whale is captured in sculpture, breaching the water, and the familiar site of Sheringham Point Lighthouse is also present.

Local graphic designer, photographer and videographer Jason van der Valk of Inktvis Creative shot the panoramic photo and produced the Sooke 2010 website and video, shown below. The work he put in was extensive and the results definitely show. If you’re looking for somebody with creative vision and skill for your next project, Jason is your man!

For those of us that live here, the video reconfirms that we live in an amazing place – perhaps Vancouver Island’s best-kept secret. For everyone else, perhaps it’s time to have a look at the video, and find out what you’ve been missing.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: 2010 | BC | display | inktvis | o-zone | olympics | ozone | richmond | Sooke | street | tourism | Vancouver | Video

A while back, I wrote about the BC Spirit Square that was announced for Ed Macgregor Park in Sooke. The oft-vandalized BC Government sign visible from the roadway had been sitting there for months with not a lot of action behind it in the park. Well, as I was passing by the other day I got a glimpse of the outdoor performance space that was promised as part of the Spirit Square:

The outdoor stage in the new Spirit Square

In addition to the stage, washrooms, lighting and drainage/erosion control are being installed. Ed Macgregor park is getting better and better – imagine the Sooke Philharmonic Fling concert being played on a nice new stage, and being able to walk from downtown along the waterfront boardwalk to enjoy it!

*             *             *

Every day I drive past the site of the new Prestige Hotel being built along the waterfront in Sooke. As I’ve written before, this is an amazing development and will be a welcome asset to our town, for visitors and locals alike. Work has been progressing steadily since October on the project and it appears that the foundation is nearing completion:

The Foundation of the Prestige Hotel in Sooke near completion

I hope to take some more photos as construction on this project continues.

Sooke is definitely moving up in the world – with its stunning natural beauty, relatively affordable housing, and small-town charm, it’s no surprise.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: BC | construction | ed macregor | hotel | parks | pictures | prestige | resort | Sooke | spirit square | stage | waterfront

Sunriver Estates in Sooke has many different home designs, including this Riverstone plan.

This is a question I get all the time from people who are interested in buying a home in Sooke’s popular Sunriver Estates subdivision.

The answer is no, Sunriver is not a strata. There are no councils, meetings, minutes, or strata fees. Each detached home in the development is a fee simple title, which is the same as most other detached homes in British Columbia. However, there is a townhouse complex at Sunriver, which is a strata with the usual implications thereof.

What Sunriver is, is a planned community, meaning that you can’t simply purchase a lot and build whatever home you please on it. The developer at Sunriver has the exclusive rights to sell the lots, and will only do so with the purchase of a building contract to go with it. There are a number of different home designs to choose from, both single level and two-storey, and almost all the homes can have a basement built under them for an extra level.

 While Sunriver Estates in Sooke is not a strata, people often ask me about the “rules” for the community. A common rumour is that you’re not allowed to have a boat or RV in your driveway at Sunriver. This isn’t exactly accurate. All homes at Sunriver have a building scheme registered on title. A building scheme is a set of restrictions that a developer will register on the title to the lots to ensure a community that is uniform in appearance and neat and tidy. For example, it’s common for a developer that is selling only building lots to stipulate a minimum size for the homes or that mobile homes are not allowed.

Sunriver’s building scheme has a few stipulations about boats and RVs at Sunriver. Basically, they want them out of sight. Keep them in the back yard or screened behind a fence or lattice and you’ll have no problems. That being said, there is always the question of who enforces a building scheme, how they would do that, what the penalty would be for violation, and under what conditions would they enforce it, i.e., would it take a complaint from a neighbour?

Take a drive around Sunriver – you’ll see plenty of examples of boats and RVs in various states of compliance or non-compliance with the building scheme.

If you have any questions about Sunriver Estates, please take a moment to email me at Tim@TimAyres.ca, call me at 250-885-0512, or fill in my contact form – I’m always happy to help.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: BC | boats | building scheme | bylaws | estates | restrictions | rv | Sooke | Strata | Sun river | Sunriver

Sooke Fire Department image credit: Mike Byrne, ClocktowerImages.com

I’m not sure how this escaped my Sooke Internet Radar™, as I’m usually up to speed on just about anybody doing anything online in our town, but did you know that the Sooke Volunteer Fire Department has a blog?

I discovered it yesterday via a Twitter search for Sooke. It appears to be mainly a forum for keeping the department’s many volunteers up to date on what’s been happening lately, but makes an interesting read for observers who’d like to know what all the sirens are about.

The blog is regularly updated, with the latest post being from January 18th, its tenth post so far of the year. There are a few pictures and lots of insight as to what it’s like being the first on the scene.

I highly recommend you check it out, and follow along the daily activities of those volunteers who help keep us safe in Sooke. Make sure you check out the sidebar near the bottom, which shows the most recent 30 incident responses.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: blog | fire department | incident | News | rescue | safety | Sooke | volunteer

I love Twitter. I also love living in a town with a unique name. It’s easy to monitor the goings-on in the online world with a search for Sooke saved as an RSS feed or in one of the many Twitter desktop clients like Tweetdeck. A month or so ago I discovered that travel and lifestyle writer Reb Stevenson had found her way out to our little seaside community from the Center Of The Universe (Toronto), to stay a few nights in the Sooke Harbour House and see what our town was all about.  Reb’s column, Sleeping Around, runs in the Toronto Star the fourth Saturday of each month.

Below is the video she put together about her stay. Looks like you had fun, Reb, despite the cold and drizzly December weather. Hey, beats the snow in Toronto. Thanks for profiling Sooke and come back soon!

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: harbour house | hotel | inn | reb stevenson | Sooke | tourism | Video | visit

Sooke Santa Skate

The annual Sooke Santa Skate, put on by our team at Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty and SEAPARC, will be held this Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at the SEAPARC Arena. Join us from 1:30 until 3:00 for a fun, family event. Admission is by donation of non-perishable food items, new, unwrapped toys, or cash to support Sooke families in need this Christmas.

Your local REALTORS® from the Royal LePage Coast Capital office will be on hand passing out free and tasty hot chocolate and hot dogs and collecting your generous donations. Skate rentals are also included if you do not have your own. Bring your camera and get a memorable picture with Skating Santa Claus!

Last year’s event was a success, despite having been postponed due to adverse road conditions brought on by the wild winter weather we had last December. Hopefully we’ll have a typically mild day, making it easy for everyone to safely get to the arena.

I hope to see you there!

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: arena | christmas | family | free | fun | Santa | SEAPARC | skate | skating | Sooke

This past Saturday saw the 2nd annual Sooke Spirit Festival which was a resounding success. What started as a small event in a snowstorm last year, grew into a well organized and well attended family affair this year.

I was driving the lead boat (the Coast Guard Auxiliary boat) in the sailpast, and managed to shoot a little bit of video to give you an idea what it looked like out there if you missed it. What a perfect night to be on the water. A little chilly, but the wind held off until after the sailpast, which was a big plus. There were lots of people on the boardwalk watching the dozen-plus decorated boats sparkle on the crystal-clear and calm evening on Sooke Harbour.

Check out the video I shot below. It’s mostly of the boats getting ready and of the beautiful harbour before sundown, as I was driving the boat during the actual sailpast. If anyone has any better video, shoot me an email and let me know and I’ll post it!

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: 2009 | auxiliary | BC | boats | CCGA | coast guard | festival | harbour | lights | parade | sailpast | Sooke | spirit | tim ayres

Ho Ho Ho!

The Sooke Harbour Chamber of Commerce and The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit #37 – Sooke invite one and all to the Sooke Spirit Festival, which takes place tomorrow, Saturday, December 5th, 2009. Right in the heart of the town centre, come join us in getting into the Christmas spirit!

What’s happening?

• Shopping: The parade route in the centre of town will feature concessions selling holiday treats and gifts, and many Sooke businesses will have special Spirit Festival deals!
• Santa Claus Parade: Starting at 2:30, the big guy in red will travel down Sooke Road through the centre of town.
• Sailpast: Led by the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, celebrate Sooke’s maritime heritage and enjoy the lighted parade of boats of all sizes from the Rotary Pier or Whiffen Spit.
• Music: The fabulous Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at the Sooke Community Theatre at 7:30. Don’t miss it! This is a paid event with a portion of ticket sales benefiting the Sooke Christmas Bureau. Info at SookePhil.ca

We have been blessed with fantastic weather this year, and while it will be cool and crisp, there won’t be rain (or a snow storm like last year!)  This is an awesome free family event you won’t want to miss.

Other family events this year in Sooke include the Sooke Santa Skate, put on by me and the team at Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty. Stay tuned to 642Blog for more information about this other wonderful Christmas family event.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: celebration | christmas | events | family | festival | lights | parade | sailpast | Santa | Sooke | spirit