Northern Exposure
Whistler, Canmore and Mont Tremblant attract buyers from below.
October 1, 2007
We turn our gaze to Canada. The number of Americans emigrating north is at an all-time high; the approach of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler signals more mountainside construction; the exchange rate gap between the dollars is closing. Sooner, not later, is the time to purchase property in the increasingly cosmopolitan Great White North.Whistler
Approximately 75 miles north of Vancouver, Whistler claims the
two highest vertical-rise mountains in North America—Whistler and Blackcomb—each
of which extends one mile into the air. The town’s exceptional topography,
along with its ability to keep up with growth and demand, has made it a
desirable locale for buyers from Seattle to London. "Whistler attracts ski
instructors and mountain em-ployees from all of the world—the U.K., Australia,
South Africa—who come for the 8,000 acres of skiable terrain," says Ross McCredie, president and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada. "That
cosmopolitan mix of people, combined with the amazing ski runs, creates a unique
kind of ski town." And with its hosting of the 2010 Winter Olympics, the
community has had an influx of improvements such as the CAD$800 million highway
connecting Whistler and Vancouver.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
A four-bedroom private residence at the
Four Seasons Resort Whistler, where all 37 homes sold out within an hour. Resale
units are available, and 23 of the homes are offered in the hotel’s rental
pool. (Click image to enlarge)
Unlike other mountain towns where a lack of employee housing
and a surplus of high-end condo developments create the feeling of a temporary
community, Whistler has avoided becoming a transient town. The past 15 years
have seen a tripling in the city’s population, but unlike other high-end ski
towns that are not able to provide enough affordable housing, Whistler has been
conscious of keeping up with demand. And to avoid an excess of empty condos,
many of the condo-hotel developments in Whistler Village have a covenant called
Phase II, which limits the number of days owners can use their unit to 28 days
in the winter and 28 days in the summer and requires them to rent out their unit
when not in use.
At the base of Blackcomb, the Four Seasons Resort Whistler set
a new benchmark for Phase II developments in the area. Completed in 2004, the
resort includes 250 condo-hotel units, which sold out in less than three hours
when they hit the market in 2001. "While there were definitely people who
purchased units because they wanted a second home, those who flipped them have
made a good profit," says McCredie, whose company handled sales for the
building. Units that were priced at CAD$800 per square foot in 2001 are now
selling at CAD$1,000 per square foot. And a four-bedroom penthouse that sold for
CAD$5.5 million in 2001 recently sold for CAD$7 million. In addition to the
condo-hotel units, the Four Seasons development also offered 37 private
residences, which sold out in less than an hour when they were released in
2003.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
This modern home in Whistler is listed through Ann Chiasson of Sea
to
Sky Premier Properties for CAD$6.9 million. (Click image to enlarge)
While the Four Seasons remains the highest-end condo-hotel
development in the area, other hotel chains such as Westin, Hilton and Pan
Pacific have had success with their residential units as well.
Private communities generally allow buyers more flexibility with design and usage. At Kadenwood, buyers can build a custom home at the highest buildable point on Whistler Mountain. The first phase of 19 homesites sold out in its first day in 2001, but a second phase of 21 homesites ranging from a half acre to one-and-a-half acres are priced between CAD$1.5 million and CAD$2.5 million ($1.4 million and $2.3 million). Slightly lower on the mountain, the Stonebridge development encompasses 400 acres in a protected forest within Whistler Valley. The 30 estate lots range from approximately one to 20 acres and are priced from CAD$3 million to CAD$6 million ($2.8 million to $5.6 million).
Other neighborhoods offering ski-in/ski-out duplex homes adjacent to Blackcomb include Pinnacle Ridge (for around CAD$2.5 million); estate homes at Sunridge Plateau with access to Whistler Mountain start around CAD$3.5 million. However, the most sought-after real estate in Whistler is not necessarily next to one of the mountains. "One of the appealing things about Whistler is that you also have access to a great mountain biking park and four golf courses," notes McCredie. "Not everyone is a skier." A five-minute drive from Whistler, the village of Alpine offers homes from around CAD$1.5 million, while homes in Blueberry Hill sell for around CAD$2.5 million.
"The quality of the homes in Whistler is similar to what you’d
see in a town like Aspen, but the lifestyle in Whistler is completely
different," says McCredie, who is based in Vancouver, but has had a home in
Whistler for the past 20 years. "Aspen is more a place to see and be seen.
Whistler is more low-profile." And while many ski towns promote summer
activities to counterbalance the ski season, Whistler is one of the few that
offers skiing almost year-round. "During the summer months, you can mountain
bike in the morning, ski in the afternoon and water-ski in the evening," adds
McCredie. "There aren’t many ski towns in North America that have the landscape
for all of that." --Samantha BrooksCanmore
Even people who know and love the Colorado Rockies and the
soaring Tetons of Wyoming will be awestruck the first time they encounter the
Canadian version. Just an hour’s drive from Calgary (itself only a three-hour
flight from Los Angeles) is the town of Canmore. The area in Alberta is known
for a cluster of vast national and provincial parks of which Banff National Park
(2,564 square miles) is perhaps the most recognized, but also includes Jasper
National Park (4,200 square miles) to the north; Yoho National Park (507 square
miles), which crosses into Vancouver, to the west; and Kananaskis County (1,600
square miles), the area made famous as the better-looking stand-in for Wyoming’s
Big Horn Mountains in Brokeback
Mountain. The 143-mile stretch of highway
between Lake Louise (north of Banff) and Jasper counts as one of the world’s
greatest drives, which passes through the glaciers of Icefields Parkway. While
no homes can be built within any of the parks, building is permitted in the town
of Canmore.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
The Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta
and Quebec boast some of North America’s best skiing and mountainside real
estate. Left: At the base of the Three Sisters mountain range in the Canadian
Rockies is Canmore’s Three Sisters Moun-tain Village. (Click image to enlarge)
The area’s winter attractions are manifest, and include both
alpine and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, ice climbing and dog
sledding. Summer brings golf, biking, hiking, camping and river rafting. Five
ski resorts are in easy reach: Banff Mount Norquay, Sunshine Village, Lake
Louise Ski Area, Nakiska and Kicking Horse Mountain. Canmore is also home to
the Canmore Nordic Center, 40 miles of groomed cross-country trails. And it is
all set within a major wildlife corridor, home to bighorn sheep, mountain
goats and grizzly bears. Slowdowns within the parks are common as people stop to
photograph elk pausing beside—or right in the middle of—the highway.
Canmore itself, meanwhile, has been expanding services to meet
the influx of new development. The town boasts nine art galleries with busy
event schedules, two supermarkets, four pharmacies and over a half-dozen
sporting goods stores. Two movie theaters are in the planning stages. And those
concerned about skiing mishaps can rest assured that Canmore has its own
hospital.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Solara’s CAD$4
million spa incorporates rich stone and natural wood. (Click image to enlarge)
Three of the area’s developments are attracting buyers from the
U.S., U.K. and nearby Calgary, where locals have profited from the recent oil
and gas boom. In September 2006, the 10-year-old Silvertip (named for a type of
grizzly bear) began offering 20 luxury condos ranging in price from CAD$700,000
to CAD$2.2 million ($655,000 to $2.1 million). Phase I of the development
will be designed by Italian architect Pier Carlo Bontempi and will look like a
classic Italian alpine village. The development has an 18-hole golf course and
ample banquet and tournament facilities. Silvertip’s ambitious plan for the
future is for a mixed-use community that includes a five-star, 100-room hotel,
300,000 to 500,000 square feet of office space integrated throughout the village
and 1,200 additional apartment and condo units. The dearth of office space in
Calgary may turn Canmore into a viable exurb—a place to both live and work.
The Three Sisters Mountain Village, located in the Bow River
Valley, occupies 2,000 acres. It has been under development since 1999, with
build out of its various villages anticipated by 2015. Current offerings include
the 22 townhomes under construction at Paintbrush Village, which are priced from
CAD$950,000 to CAD$1.18 million ($890,000 to $1.1 million). Also underway are
three enclaves at Stewart Creek Village: Wilderness Ridge, Timberline Lodges and
Serenity Ridge. A total of 207 units will be offered, with prices ranging from
CAD$550,000 to CAD$1.8 million ($515,000 to $1.7 million).; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Solara Canmore, which consists of three lodge
buildings, is slated for
completion in summer 2008. (Click image to enlarge)
Following the new residential offerings, the community’s
Sanctuary Resort Center will comprise Three Sisters’ next stage of development.
The center will feature two five-star hotels, a spa and wellness center,
additional residential offerings and 150,000 square feet of retail space,
including a large outdoor adventure retailer, a local brew pub and a food market
with organic and locally grown produce.
A green development, Three Sisters uses ecologically sensitive building practices such as the use of nontoxic construction materials, fuel-efficient gas fireplaces, geothermal heating, solar energy, recycled materials and water-efficient fixtures.
A much more limited development, Solara Canmore is slated for
completion next summer. Three lodge buildings on the border of Kananaskis County
will contain 214 one-, two- and three-bedroom upscale vacation units ranging in
size from 750 to 1,800 square feet. Both full and fractional ownerships are
available, with quarter shares (12 weeks of usage) ranging from CAD$190,000 to
CAD$305,000 ($180,000 to $290,000); whole-ownership residences start at
CAD$444,000 ($422,000). Thirty-five- hundred square feet of amenity space will
include a restaurant with a cooking school, a 100-seat theater, a CAD$4 million
spa and a children’s entertainment area. Owners can trade blocks of time in the
Resort to Resort exchange network, an Intrawest company. --Drew LimskyMont Tremblant, Quebec
When 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