Sechelt Development - The Watermark at Sechelt

[Skook]

At the Watermark, the banners are coming down, the red carpet rolled up and the furnished display unit and sales centre have both been listed. As of June 1st, this is just another Sunshine Coast development dumping a pile of unsold units onto the market. Yes, the Watermark has listed all but two of its unsold units for a total of 36. Then, add in the 7 “resale” units listed and Watermark’s total rises to 43 units. As of today, there are 85 condo units listed in Sechelt’s core area alone - that’s 85!!

So, it’s time for a big Watermark update (and every other SC development listed here at VanPeak) and I’ll be offering these in the days and weeks ahead. An updated Watermark spreadsheet is almost ready to post; however, carrying on from my last post, let’s begin with all those unsold and empty commercial units fronting Teredo St.

In my previous posts, I mentioned I couldn’t understand why the retail units have never been “commercially” listed. Well, that changed sometime in May, but definitely by the beginning of June. Five units in Phase 1 and three units in Phase 2 are on the market as the spread sheet below shows. I anticipated finding these listings when I visited the Western Investor website and noticed Watermark’s new June ad (left below).

The details in the WI ad make you scratch your head. It mentions 7 individual strata units (lots) for a total of 9,200sf for $2.8 million. If you add up the square footage of the units listed (#101 to #108 @ 873sf to 1607sf), you get a total of 9,694sf for $3.1 million (but, multiply 9694sf by $304psf = $2.95 million - it’s close). Well, Watermark has always been a bit “loosey-goosey” with details which is understandable with so many “partners” involved (developer, Development Company, public relations firm, marketing firm, realty company, Realtor, etc., etc.,).

Here’s info from one of its earliest flyers. It mentions the three “live-work” units, the bistro and the total available commercial space.



In a press release dated March 28, 2011 that announced the project was a go, we read…

Quote:With all approvals now received from the District of Sechelt, Pacific Spirit Properties is set to move ahead with its newest development, the Watermark at Sechelt, containing 104 residential suites, 3 live work units, 6,400 sq.ft. of commercial space and a waterfront café/bistro.

The 6,400sf figure was carried forward after 2011, but that didn’t include the 3 “live/work” studios which appear to all be in Phase 2 (7525 Teredo St). Now, Unit #109 sold last month (May 1st) for $239,900. There was a previous “live/work” unit that sold and I mentioned it in my November 29, 2013 post - this was Unit #108. Well, guess what? That unit “sale” has now vanished. Yep, it's gone…didn’t happen...which is why we now see it listed in the spreadsheet.

Now, I am not sure how many “commercial/retail” units there are in Phase 2 which is why I have included the September and December 2013 construction pics above which appear to indicate 5 units (in addition to the main entrance) along Teredo St. If so, there might be a Unit #110 and it or Unit #107 could be the third “live/work” studio.

It is amazing the lack of information available about these Watermark “live/work” studios. The official District of Sechelt Zoning Bylaw Amendment document for Watermark - Bylaw No. 25-235, 2010 (CD-30) Pacific Spirit Properties (Teredo) Development - gives this definition:

Quote:“LIVE/ WORK UNIT” means a suite of rooms where both residential and commercial (either “offices” or “specialty retail”) floor space is designed as a single environment and in which residential and commercial amenities are provided.

According to the listing for #109, there is a bathroom but no bedroom - makes sense since it’s a “studio”. The question is: does it have a kitchen area? There needs to be some “residential” amenities, right? You would think with all the press articles that someone would have asked more questions about these units. Well, for whatever reason they exist and at least one (#108) is available to buy.

******************************

The Watermark marketing team prepared many interesting articles for the press and/or for its own website. In light of the listings above, I think one of those articles is worth a brief quote:

Quote:Feb 20, 2013
MORE THAN A DEVELOPMENT, WATERMARK RAISES THE BAR FOR SECHELT

Lance Sparling can’t help feeling proud of the new beginning taking shape on Sechelt’s waterfront. The Watermark, he says, is more than just a development.

“When you drive through Sechelt and you see those two beautiful concrete buildings anchoring the downtown core, you’re seeing a statement,” says Sparling, president of Sechelt-based building team, Wakefield. “This raises the bar for the community.”

Raising the bar sits well with the District of Sechelt’s plans for its downtown core.

“The Watermark project supports Sechelt’s vision of our downtown as an attractive community focal point,” says Sechelt Mayor, John Henderson. “Most importantly, construction of The Watermark demonstrates confidence in our community as a great place to live and invest in.”

What’s happening at Watermark or more accurately not happening with regard to its commercial unit sales is just another sign of the crisis facing not only Sechelt but the whole Sunshine Coast. And, it’s more than just an aging population issue - there is no economic growth…period…and, it’s a coast, province, Canada-wide problem. That’s what happens when your citizens live on debt.