Toby Gorman
Black PRess
A lack of financing opportunities has forced the owner of Oceanview Golf Resort and Spa to list the property for sale.
The 190-hectare oceanfront property south of Nanaimo was listed on LandandFarm.com on Jan. 19 for $60 million.
An additional 38 hectares located just outside the urban containment boundary in Cedar is also part of the package.
“There’s just no financing available for a project like this,” said Wilf Richard, of Canadian Property Investments, from Calgary Monday. “Ideally we’re interested in a joint venture, we don’t want to go away.”
He said the project is about 10 months behind schedule and remains in the development phase.
A portion of the property is designated as Resort Land, and the development was already approved for 2,677 residential units, an 18-hole golf course, spa and commercial opportunities.
In November, Richard said about $80 million in financing was required to begin construction on the first of three phases, which would include the development of 430 multi-density residential units.
“It’s frustrating for sure,” said Richard. “The failure of Bear Mountain really hurt us, so we’re hoping a joint venture will help us out of this situation.”
Over the past few years, the project has generated some controversy, and also sparked a successful alternative approval process that prevented the additional land in Cedar, preferred for the golf course, from being included in the urban containment boundary.