Housing action hits new heights

Bench becomes hot spot _

‘TERRACE — The bench is tak- ing over from the horseshoe as the place where the major hous- ing action is taking place.

It's a sign the city’s residential real estate. market is changing, the Northwest Real Estate Board’s zone Tepresentative said last week, ;

“1 think we're going to have to _ go beyond the idea that we can all live two minutes. from the

.downtown,’’ said Joyce Findlay. - Along with that is the realize- lion the days of a home selling below $100,000 are rapidly dis- appearing.

“Just three years ago it would be an exception to have homes for sale for more than $100,000. Then we broke the $150,000 level

_and now we have homes in the $200,000 range,’’ said Findlay. -

The majority of the real. estaie action takes place with homes in

the S100, 000 to $130, 000 brack- et.

Prices have stayed fairly con- stant and the market strong within that range last -year and to date

New lots _ offer option

TERRACE: — Realtor Sheila Love js the first to admit that the Terrace Mountain Estates lots are not for most people interested in building 4 house,

The view is- spectacular but most of sites in the eight-lot de- velopment on the bench seem more in tune with North Van- couver or Prince Rupert than with Terrace,

The lots were blasted out of the ae of Terrace Mountain and ac-

to the upper oncs is via lwo roa a5, caving, PY fhe, Showatin side. .. - That's quite different fom. what has been ‘the normal option in ‘Terrace — traditional subdivi- sions in neat tows. ‘A lot of people in Terrace are

used-to flat ground, to a lawn and

tees. That won't be the case

here,”’ sald Love.

These will be for a patticnlar type client. These homes will be atchitecturally designed to fit the . lot,” she said.

Prices start at $75,000 ranging up to $85,500. Purchasers, be- cause of the lot design, also have

Homes to hit 100

TERRACE — It’s been one of the busiest years for home construction and the end isn’t heré yet,

Nearly 80 single residential permits have been approved so far and city permits director -Bob Lafleur expects the figure to hit 100 by this winter.

~“T know there are some people waiting for some ser-

‘vices to'go in before construc-:

- tion’ can start,’’ said Lafleur last week. He said a fall surge is normal as people iry to get founda- idns-in and roofs on before frost and winter strike. - “T’d-say.100 is realistic un- less -interest rates rise. That’s - what E predicted in the spring,

There. are..people out there -

_ with rolled up plans who can’t get, a builder to build because it’s been so busy,’’ Lafleur added. ,

“Just three years ago it would be an exception to have homes for sale for more than $100,000. Then we broke the $150,000 level and now we have homes in the

$200,000 range.”

this year.

Findlay said what was a sellers’ market has more or less evened out now within the $100,000 to $130,000 area.

July sales statistics prepared for the real eslate board on sales throughout the northwest show a five per cent increase in prices compared to July 1992.

That five per cent translates into an average price of $96,529 last July to $101,524 this July. There were 67 residenlial units sold this July compared to 57 in July 1992.

Findlay predicts the market will temain strong as long as interest rales stay low.

She attributes the growth in the housing industry here to more aiid more people staying in Ter-

race rather than: retiring to the 7

~

south or moving elsewliere as. their careers advance.

*'The lifestyle in Terrace is bet- ter and so are the amenilies,” Findlay said.

Findlay points to the growing number of new subdivision devel- opments on the bench as a sign the city is branching out [0 meet demand.

More than half a dozen projecis

have put close to 200 lots on the market with more to come in the past two years.

There’s also been a growing in-

terest in the south side as larger parcels are being subdivided.

All that adds up to a greater

choice for prospective home buyers and purchasers, said Find- lay,

Although there is strong interest

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 22, 1993 - Page AS

in housing above $100,000, Find-

lay said there remains a need for

less expensive accommodation. A number of housing options

ranging from strata titled duplexes to townhouse to mobile home parks would have customers, she added.

“Some —s years. ago. when

Woodgreen (ihe townhouses on Lazelle past the firchall) went on the market, nothing happened. When we tried again now, they began selling like hotcakes,’”’ said Findlay. :

One new concept to Terrace is that of a manufactured home

park. At $62,000 cach, not including monthly pad rental, new

Kermodei Park is affordable to young people, seniors and. those on modest’ incomes, says co- owner Shirley Kyle. :

It’s located on the former Old Bridge Properties and is the only park of its kind in the city limits.

When finished it will hold 40 manufactured homes. Each one is 70 feet long by 14 feet wide.

Joyce Findlay

“This is not a trailer park. We're trying to get away from that kind of name. There’ll be sidewalks, we’]l have security cameras, fences and street light- ing,” said Kyle.

Part of the development plan in- cludes taking out the old motel on the property.

CHANGING TIMES mean changing ways for developers and realtors to meet an expanding housing market in the city, That's realtor Shella Lova on the top of Terrace Mountain Estates. It’s

an nearer

just one of more than half a dozen developments located on the bench in the past several years.

i

RISER SPRUE EC AURS CALEB 8 guarinteg, no ay: Me ihe to build ia front of ‘them and ob- struct the view.

The three lots on top will have a combined private driveway lead-

ing up to them. That’ means snow *~’

clearing will be the owners’ re- sponsibility and not the city’s.

, Those who; have.. made in- quities, especially those from out of town, aren’t all that frightened by the cost or the location, says Love.

She views the development as another option for people who want as broad choice as possible.

That same kind of thinking is

The 69 permits to the end of August came with a value of $9,241 million.

There were 68 permits granted to the end of August 1991 with a value of $8.48 million.

Permits have’ also been issued for four duplexes, one 10-plex and two: -four-plexes - this year.

Housing activity accounted for neatly $7 million in 1992 with 82 ‘homes and 30 multi-

‘residential units constructed.

All that construction activity this year has kept builders and sub trades occupied, -says Doug Fell, president -of the

‘Skeena Homebuilders Associ- ation.

“We've been busy the ‘past | two or three years but this has been far and away the busiest yet,” he said.

oe saerhiTe TAM

behind ; snother ney, bengh-sub- division, called Bench Park being put in by Bench Developments.

The twist here is that lots will»

come with trees on them. That way, says realtor Erika Langer, purchasers can decide how many trees they want to keep once the location of their house has heen set.

“Tf the buyers then want to cut every tree down, that’s their busi ness,’’ she said.

Langer said the decision to leave trees on the lots follows criticism of another subdivision, Bench Place, put in by Bench De-

level

‘*From. what people are

saying, they like this year and | ‘|;

they’re added.

He’s heard that it has been difficult at times to find sub

optimistic,” Fell”

' trades because of the level of

activity. -

The association president also expects a bit of a surge in activity this fall.

More and more builders are putting up spec houses, ones. that are built in hopes of find- ing a buyer later on.

That’s encouraging, says

Fell, because it provides more

of a choice for people looking for a home.

- ‘THERE'S LOTS of action at

West Ridge Developments with. underground services | being put In. This subdivi- sion is located above Lan- © fear Hill, Access ia via Mountain Vista Drive. ”

velopmeénts: fast “year: "Theie) lots: ‘~'Voeation where people: interested

were cleared of trees. *

‘Lot prices on the new aevelop-

ment range from $36,000. jo

. $80,000.

This kind of money may seem steep for some people but it all adds up to a healthy mix, says a

city official responsible for build-

ing permits.

A growing city needs to offer new and existing residents a wide choice’ in location and price to remain . attractive, said Bob Lafleur.

He points to the south side as a

in traditional lots can find what they want,

“You have some big lots there, three-quarters of an acre, which

-are being subdivided into four

lots,’’ said Lafleur,

And there are still individual lots to be found in already devel- oped areas,

Construction on these is called infilling by urban planners.

Tt's offen viewed as cost cffec- tive because services have al- ready been put in place for exist- ing homes.

LETTER

TO THE TERAACE STANDARD

Doubts about Orenda

Dear Sir:

Stewart mayor Darlene Comell may well be on the tight track with her allegation (The Terrace Standard, Aug. 25) that Orenda Forest Produc- ts wasn’t serious when it pro- posed building a pulp mill near its Meziadin logging . opera- tions back in 1990.

“‘Orenda,”’ she points out, “are allowed to keep logging as long as they make their best efforts to establish a mill’. But, she adds, ‘I don’t think what Orenda puls into those Studies is anywhere near what it makes form logging,”

The fact is that Orenda con- tracted with the people of B.C, through the forest service, to establish a mill to de-bark and chip ot to de-bark and pulp the 342,000 cubic metres of timber supply it was granted in Kalum Forst District.

Under the terms of its con- tract, that operation is sup- posed to be up and running by November 1996. Given a con- struction term of 21. months, ground-breaking should occur no later than January 1995 to meet that commitment.

There’s been some periodic fuss and fanfare whenever it seemed that local interest and enthusiasm for the project was

enough to preserve the illusion that even if nothing is actually happening currently, great things remain in the works, There’s even been a few. studies regarding the ground- waier supply necessary for the plant’s operation - again, just enough to preserve the illusion that the thing might go ahead

actually having to proceed with it.

Even if commitments were in place, what guarantee .would we have that Orenda -would deliver on them?

Mayor Comell’s contention that those scamps at Orenda

near Mezladin may well ex- tend to their current Lakelse proposal.

They’ve stumbled on a lucra- tive strategy: invest a pittance in smoke and mirrots (in the form of glossy consultants’ studies), and while the local yokels are all agog, proceed at

a leisurely pace to pluck * em clean.: ;

John How, Terrace BC

Fulton and his pension

Dear Sir:

Enough _ already! Jim Fulton’s pension has received

this newspaper.

If The Terrace Standard feels compelled io write about the Mr, Fulton, why not spend some time paying tribute to the great politician.

This man gave 14 years of his life to the residents. of Skeena. He always put Skeena first. Not only should he be recognized for his yeais of public service, he should be thanked.

Jim Fulton logged . over 400,000 kilometres per year travelling in Skeena and back and forth across Canada,

flagging excessively. But just

without incurring the risk of |

weren't serious about building |

far 100 much coverage from’

Incredible as it may seem,

cont'd page Al0

Noisy trucks

Some people say there

And they might move

Railway -

It was hard to cross the CN tracks at Kenney last week,

should not be big trucks out of the city.

Drivers of trucks would

in the city. That’s because CN - : They say the trucks ate not be allowed to park workers had torn up the . ; too noisy. them at their homes. tracks,

So the city wants to pass © One company owner, They were replacing the

a law. It would allow big Ken Houlden, said he had bed of the track. It had _ _fitucks on only a few been in one. spot. since ‘become soggy over the “streets, 1953, ‘years, . 7 But truck companies say Another person said it This picture is of a rail ane Start i for pea a ban -will cost them would be. difficult to get ‘Car dumping rock for the

money. _ new. bed,

learning how to read,

- to repair shops. ©