By Peter Caulfield
Ecoasis is in the process of developing the next Bear Mountain neighbourhood of approximately 100 residential lots and a number of multi-family properties including executive-style townhomes. The first phase, Cypress, will be released in mid-April 2016, with lots ranging from 7,500 to 12,000 square feet and lot pricing ranging from $260,000 to $380,000.
“The lots are located alongside holes 3, 4 and 5 of the Mountain Golf Course, approximately 500 yards from Bear Mountain’s core retail and amenities centre,” said Dan Matthews, CEOof Victoria-based Ecoasis Group of Companies, owner, developer and operator of the resort. “We are seeing evidence of strong demand for Cypress already.”
Situated in the foothills of Mount Finlayson, with a quick and direct connection to the recently upgraded Island Highway, Bear Mountain offers a beautiful, natural setting located just minutes from downtown Victoria. Matthews says Bear Mountain is ideal for manydemographics from young professionals and active families to empty nesters and retirees.
“Sell your house on the mainland, move to an urban resort and get a brand-new, four-bedroom, golf course home at 30 per cent of the cost of many Vancouver neighbourhoods,” he said. “Bear Mountain delivers a resort lifestyle every day, consistent with some of the finest resorts in North America.
“The existing community, which includes the recently completed and sold out Turnberry subdivision, contains approximately 1,150 homes with 3,000 people, and at build-out over 4,000 homes and the community could exceed 10,000 residents, making it the largest community of its kind in Canada."
Bear Mountain has been zoned for 645,000 square feet of commercial space, of which 250,000 square feet is already occupied by two hotel buildings, restaurants and a small retail plaza with a coffee shop and food market.
“We will be adding a 50,000-square-foot retail and commercial core, anchored with a brand-name grocery store with a targeted construction start in 2017,” said Matthews. “A variety of food and beverage outlets and other resort destination retail stores will also be added.”
Longer-term planning for the Bear Mountain Village core includes a gondola connecting sightseers and cyclists to the top of Mount Finlayson. The mountain is already a well-traveled hike, and the gondola will extend the experience to people of all physical abilities.
Bear Mountain Resort is rich in recreational amenities, including Canada’s only 36 holes of Nicklaus Design golf.
“Golfers can choose between the rugged, challenging Mountain Course or the more serene Valley Course,” said Matthews.
Bear Mountain’s golfing excellence was recently recognized when Golf Canada and the resort announced a four-year partnership in which Bear Mountain will become the official Canadian training centre for Team Canada’s National Squads. Bear Mountain Resort will provide athletes and coaches with year-round access to all on-site golf and resort facilities, including the fitness facility and soon-to-be-upgraded golf-training amenities.
While serving as the Canadian training centre for Golf Canada’s National Team program, Bear Mountain will also host two future Golf Canada championship events.
In addition to its pristine golf courses, Bear Mountain is building an exhaustive collection of cycling trails including a full range of single-track (beginner to advanced), flow trails, Enduro lines and a full-scale dirt jump park. All of these elements will be complemented by the trail systems of the surrounding provincial and regional park systems. In 2015, Bear Mountain announced a partnership with Cycling Canada, by which the resort became the official high-performance training centre of the Canadian national mountain bike team.
Besides golf and cycling, Bear Mountain is also adding tennis to its offerings with the addition of eight red clay tennis courts. When completed in fall 2016, it will be Canada’s largest indoor/outdoor clay-court tennis facility supported by Tennis Canada and Tennis BC.
Matthews says Bear Mountain is becoming the finest, most complete residential resort in Canada.
“Their ‘beyond expectations’ experiences are inspiring more visitors to make Bear Mountain their home,” he said.
