A major Kelowna development hit another milestone today when it officially started selling a new batch of homes in the city.
Units in One Water Street’s West Tower officially went on sale today and, with the East Tower essentially sold out, early-bird buyers flocked to the development’s sales centre to snap them up.
Shahin Oskouie was one of the first people to purchase a unit Friday morning. The mechanical engineer moved to the Okanagan from Manitoba two years ago and has been searching for a permanent home.
Shortly after he signed his contract, Oskouie bubbled with excitement.
“(This is) going to be my first time that I’m going to own, and I’m going to live there probably for the rest of my life,” he said.
Oskouie said he was swayed to One Water by a combination of price, location, views, and the amenities the development will offer.
Once completed, One Water Street will see a pair of residential highrises—29 and 36 storeys high—built atop a three-storey podium.
That podium, which developers are calling “The Bench,” will house 1.3 acres of amenities, including a pair of swimming pools, a pickleball court, a dog park, and picnic areas.
Russ Watson, of the North American Development Group, is one of the project’s developers.
Friday’s event was what he called a “friends and family day,” open mainly to people who missed out on a unit in the East Tower.
Although the event wasn’t open to the public, at 11 a.m. Watson said more than 75 units had already been sold.
Of the people who have purchased a home in the development, Watson said about 40 per cent are from the Lower Mainland, with the remainder coming from the rest of B.C.
“We’ve had very little response from Alberta and the other province, and a lot of that has to do with the proposed speculation tax,” he said.
But while Watson said he and the other developers see the provincial government’s proposed tax on empty homes “as a very negative reflection on British Columbia,” it hasn’t dampened interest in One Water Street.
Watson said the kinds of things that attracted Oskouie are also attractive to many other B.C. residents, who appear more than eager to live there.
Watson said units selling this fast means construction of both of the development’s towers can hum along on schedule.
He said the first tower will likely be finished by late 2020, with the second tower finishing up nine months later (most of the groundwork will already have been laid with the completion of the first tower).
All Biz Releases Stories
