Vancouver Sun: Summerside developer plans final phase for beautiful Salt Spring Island location
Kathleen Freimond | VANCOUVER SUN | August 13, 2021
Rising real estate prices in Metro Vancouver, the appeal of a comfortable home away from the stresses of large urban communities and the availability of land for a 12-unit development project in Summerside near the heart of Ganges on British Columbia’s Salt Spring Island are the makings of a successful project according to Troy Grant, managing partner at TLA Developments.
Thirty-nine homes were built in Summerside about a decade ago leaving an undeveloped six-acre parcel of land to complete the sub-division in Ganges, Salt Spring Island’s largest village and business centre with its shops, restaurants galleries and services.
“The original reason we bought the site was we saw it as a beautiful location, a special spot at a reasonable price,” says Grant. “The municipality wanted to see some growth and the strata wanted to see Summerside completed so it was a good fit,” adding that as people emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic many buyers are looking for opportunities to isolate from the impact of similar events, making an island location coupled to the convenience of a regular BC Ferries service particularly attractive.
The “cottage” architecture of the 12 residences, eight single-family homes and two duplexes, designed by Aspire Custom Designs, will complement the existing homes in the sub-division.
“There was a schematic, an artistic impression of what these [final] homes might look like – we took that and evolved the concept, but we don’t want to change the look and feel of the neighbourhood, so we are integrating [current] technology, building materials and today’s nuances into yesterday’s [exterior look],” says Grant. “There have been some minor tweaks, but we have tried to stay as close as possible to the look of the existing homes in the community while modernizing the interiors.”
Buyers, who will have a choice of three- or four-bedroom homes ranging in size from 1,500 to 1,900 square feet, will enjoy the existing facilities at Summerside. These include an indoor salt-water swimming pool, exercise room and a clubhouse with a conference/meeting room and a library/den. There is also a guest suite.
The neighbourhood has many amenities including the nearby grocery store, while Ganges village is a few minutes away with its boutiques, restaurants, financial services, coffee shops, art galleries and bookstores.
The village also hosts the famous Salt Spring Farmers’ Markets. According to the organizers, the Saturday market has resumed with more than 85 vendors selling produce, food and crafts. The Tuesday market, restricted to farmers and food vendors only, is also operating.
As much of the natural landscape as possible is being retained on the six-acre site although some trees had to be removed. Reeti Gupta, TLA’s director of projects says additional maple, fir and cedars will be planted along with shrubs like yellow witch hazel and Oregon grape.
For the interior design Grant says TLA’s mandate was to create a warm, sophisticated and comfortable ambience.
All homes have kitchen islands, says Gupta and the major appliances, by Haier and Whirlpool, are all stainless steel. The washer and dryer are by Samsung.
Buyers can choose from two interior design palettes: the range of brown tones in the Driftwood colour scheme or the shades of white and grey in the Sandbar selection.
In the kitchens, white cabinetry, marble-look quartz with delicate brown veining in both the countertop and the backsplash and black matte features such as the faucet and door pulls represent the Driftwood scheme.
Extending the palette to the bathrooms, the countertops and backsplash are a slightly darker brown quartz while the floor tiles mimic a wood texture and the mosaic tile in the shower niche adds visual interest, says Gupta.
To enhance the material selections, walls will be painted in a neutral grey – Benjamin Moore’s Thunder AF-685 – with Chantilly Lace as the choice for the ceiling and trim.
In the Sandbar palette the walls will be painted in Benjamin Moore’s light warm Gray Owl with Chantilly Lace selected for the ceiling and trim. In the kitchen the countertops and backsplash will be a marble-look quartz with delicate grey veining while the cabinetry is also a grey tone. In the bathrooms the countertops and backsplash are a sprinkled white quartz while light grey marble floor tiles continue the colour scheme.
All the homes feature an open-plan main level design.
“This creates great hosting capabilities, and being able to walk out [from this level] to a beautiful yard makes it one of my favourite spaces,” says Grant, who also notes the homes have spectacular views.
Reflecting on the military background of TLA’s leadership group Grant notes that collaboration is one of the competencies learned in the armed forces that benefits the team in their work in the construction industry where communicating with stakeholders, neighbours and trades is a valuable skill.
“We also bring discipline to process,” he says. “We are not rigid, if something needs to be changed, we are disciplined enough to recognize it and not be tied to a previous decision – we can adjust. We are disciplined in achieving our objectives, but not rigid in process or thought,” he says.
TLA’s 12 new homes will be known as Summerside Village. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of spring/early summer 2022, says Grant.
Project: Summerside Village
Project address: 107 Atkins Road, Salt Spring Island, B.C.
Developer: TLA Developments
Architect: Aspire Custom Designs, Victoria, B.C.,
Project size: 12 homes
Number of bedrooms: three plus den
Price: $759,000 to $999,900
Phone: 250-221-1875
Website: summersidevillage.ca
