Northern Exposure
Whistler, Canmore and Mont Tremblant attract buyers from below.
Print
Email
Bookmark
ShareOctober 1, 2007
Mont Tremblant, QuebecWhen Intrawest acquired the Mont Tremblant Resort in 1991, the Vancouver real estate company envisioned a redevelopment for this special yet neglected ski town north of Montreal. The new vision: Create a world-class four-season resort community that would not only celebrate Quebec’s unique atmosphere, but coexist with the beauty of Canada’s largest provincial park, parc national du Mont-Tremblant.
Sixteen years later, Intrawest is well on its way to executing
this master plan. Located an hour-and-a-half northwest of Montreal, the resort
may soon become a high-profile destination mentioned in the same breath as Vail
or Whistler. Its skiing consistently rates as the best in the region, and the
year-round recreation of the Laurentian Mountains attracts even more visitors in
the summer than in the winter. Additionally, Ferrari has chosen a racetrack near
the European-style village of Tremblant as the site for its sole official
driving school outside Italy. Access is easy—the Mont-Tremblant International
Airport can accommodate planes as large as a Boeing 757.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
A townhome at Panache, a neighborhood within
Quebec’s Mont Tremblant development, where all of the residences are adjacent to
numerous ski and hiking trails. (Click image to enlarge)
In 2004, Intrawest announced it would invest CAD$1 billion over
a 10-year period to build out Versant Soleil, or "Sunny Mountainside," which is
situated on the western side of the mountain, and the final phase of the
development, Versant Nord, or "Northern Mountainside." This sizable investment
comes on the heels of close to CAD$1 billion already invested to create the
nearly sold out Versant Sud, or "South Mountainside," a mixed-use village where
residents and tourists live among the quaint streets of a pedestrian hub
featuring boutique shops and luxurious resort accommodations. One of Tremblant’s
latest amenities is a gondola connecting Versant Soleil and Versant Sud, which
is currently under construction with an expected completion date of summer 2008. Started in 1991, Versant Sud comprises two golf courses and
approximately 2,500 residential units, including four condo-hotels
operated by Fairmont, Hilton, Marriott and Westin.
The condo-hotel units, which were innovative at the time, range in price from CAD$125,000 ($119,000) for a studio unit to over CAD$1 million ($950,000) for a customized penthouse. For those looking for more traditional real estate, the Panache enclave consists of a limited number of 2,600-square-foot townhomes, which sold for CAD$1.2 million ($1.1 million) when they were released in 2004—one resale unit is currently available for CAD$2.3 million ($2.2 million).
Homes in the sold-out Reserve neighborhood are estimated to range from ap-proximately CAD$2.5 million to CAD$6 million for a 14,000-square-foot estate. Additionally, single-family homesites at the sold-out Refuge du Cerf, the lone golf development on the Géant course, were last listed at CAD$250,000 ($237,000)—a sizeable increase from CAD$100,000 when they were first offered for sale 10 years ago. With all of the land sold and approximately 100 homes built in the enclave, the custom homes are now valued at upwards of CAD$2 million.
Now, high above Mont Tremblant, residents and resort guests are starting to see the initial rollout of Versant Soleil, which calls for some 2,100 residential units—1,300 of which will be condo-hotel units, and 800 of which will be single-family residences—including what will soon be announced as what could be Tremblant’s largest luxury condo-hotel. The hotel will likely comprise 260 rooms and be a major component of another mixed-use master-planned village that also calls for a multipurpose events center and a CAD$60 million gaming facility. While the hotel operating company has yet to be announced, Tremblant has had advanced discussions with the Ritz-Carlton group, which is expected to establish a hotel and private residence club.
About two-thirds of the total residential units at Versant Soleil will be located in and around this "village core," with the balance located in the lower-density areas surrounded by the provincial park. Some examples of Versant Soleil’s newest developments are Forêt Blanche and Étoile du Matin, a condominium complex at the base of the mountain that sold all 54 of its homes in a single day in December 2005. Condo prices in this ski-in/ski-out complex ranged between CAD$325,000 and CAD$650,000 ($309,000 and $617,000). Similarly, Forêt Blanche, a neighborhood of 24 premier single-family homesites that have direct ski-trail access, was another single-day sellout in April 2006.
"What sets Forêt Blanche apart is that these are currently the only single-family homesites in Versant Soleil, and the only ski-in/ski-out homesites in the whole resort," points out Steven Lafave, the director of sales and marketing at Playground, an Intrawest company. Perhaps that is why Forêt Blanche’s 24 lots, which average 28,570 square feet, sold for an average price of CAD$500,000. The homes in Forêt Blanche, which will be at least 3,500 square feet, fall in the CAD$2 million to CAD$5 million range. --Scott Kauffman
Resources
WHISTLER
Ross McCredie, Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, 604.632.3300, www.sothebysrealty.ca
Four Seasons Whistler
800.343.0799, www.fourseasons.com/whistler Kadenwood,
877.771.6767 www.kadenwoodhomes.com
Sea to Sky Premier Properties An Exclusive Affiliate of Christie’s Great Estates,
604.905.6309, www.seatoskypremierproperties.com
Stonebridge,
604.935.3644 www.stonebridgewhistler.com
CANMORE
Solara,
403.609.3600 www.solararesort.com
Silvertip,
403.678.3110 www.silvertipresort.com
Three Sisters,
877.993.4653 www.stewartcreekgolf.com
MONT TREMBLANT
Mont Tremblant,
800.465.3700 www.livetremblant.com
