With the Victoria Real Estate Market expanding and growing in all directions there also comes a need for amenities like groceries. Bear Mountain now is building some of these amenities. A recent article in the Times Colonist by Carla Wilson reads:
Grocery store coming to Bear Mountain.
Residents of Bear Mountain looking for groceries won’t have to make as many trips down the slope to big-box country starting next year.
Residents will have a new place to shop for food when the Mountain Market opens in the Langford development next year.
Excavators are digging the underground parking area this month for the 12,000-square-foot store, expected to be completed in the fall of 2008, said Dale Sproule, Bear Mountain Resort director of real estate.
The store is an integral part of the planned village centre in the massive development project on Skirt Mountain, which is expected to house between 10,000 to 15,000 residents in about a decade. Plans call for about 100,000 square feet of space in the Village, not including the existing spa and athletic centre.
“Our village concept is a walking concept so you can enjoy your tea in one location and pick up your vegetables in another and wander over to the ice cream parlour, then home. It’s sort of an all-encompassing lifestyle,” Sproule said.
The idea is to attract Village tenants who will enhance the social fabric of the community.
Unlike some resort villages developed to focus on tourists, this one is aimed at serving the needs of residents, he said. Plans call for retail on the ground floor and office or condominiums above.
A medical centre, not considered part of the retail space, is planned on the site now holding the real estate office in the Village area. Construction on that project, still in the design stage, will probably start within a year, Sproule said.
Slightly more than 1,000 people live at Bear Mountain in Langford right now.
Several restaurants are open now at Bear Mountain.
Sproule said that a manager will be hired to run the grocery store. The Mountain Market will be similar in concept to Vancouver’s Urban Fare, where gourmet, organic and locally sourced foods are among offerings. Three storeys of office space are planned above the Market.
The Village portion of the Bear Mountain project is at about 15,000 square feet so far, Sproule said. It will get a major boost later this year when tenants fill retail/commercial space in the Ponds Landing East and West buildings.
An art gallery, furniture store, pharmacy, dry cleaner and video store are among tenants moving in by December, he said.
A chartered bank is expected in 2008.
All the leased spaces were filled within a few months, Sproule said.
The final shape of the Village is still being determined as various ideas are considered, such as a cooking school. “We are going to let it evolve,” Sproule said. Unique stores and services are wanted. The goal is to create a pedestrian area where people feel comfortable walking at night. End of Article.
What else do you think is needed up on Bear Mountain? We would love to hear your comments. You can contact us anytime should you have any questions about Victoria Real Estate.
 Cheers, Anders
Anders Treiberg, REALTOR®
Properties In Victoria Professionals- Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty
Anders Treiberg has been a REALTOR® in Victoria, BC. since 1990. He has extensive Real Estate Expertise and can be reached on his website www.PropertiesInVictoria.com
