With the unique City Gardens project on the horizon, promising to transform the Kamloops skyline and help relieve the housing shortage, the market is already abuzz with anticipation and excitement.
The project’s REALTOR®, Brendan Shaw, has been witnessing this growing excitement especially around the soon-to-open Sales Centre & Show Suite. But in his mind, none of this would have been possible without developer Ron Fawcett’s vision to transform the Kamloops Downtown core.
“Not only does the vision of this project completely change downtown, but the city of Kamloops itself. I think the vision of doing something bigger, something better, is commendable on Ron’s part,” Shaw said.
City Gardens started taking root in Fawcett’s mind a couple of decades before his actual purchase of a parcel of land in 2017, in the city’s downtown core.
“The size, scope and the scale of the development is something Kamloops has never really seen, and kudos to Ron for not just creating this vision but acting on it; for securing the land and getting to the stage where we are at right now,” said Shaw.
Although there are other developments out there that have partnerships between builders and developers, Shaw added, nothing compares to the sheer undertaking of City Gardens.
For Shaw, working on a project of this scale is a first.
“I think it is a humbling experience for us to just be a part of this and to be able to showcase this development to locals and other residents of B.C. and Canada who are looking to call Kamloops home. Being able to deliver a product from the initial stage to key handovers, is a pretty exciting process.”
Just like Shaw, the industry and the market too are buzzing with excitement. With the opening of the Sales Centre & Show Suite at #238-4th Avenue on April 28, and the anticipated sales launch this May, Shaw has been witnessing a growing interest every day. There have been thousands of people sign up on the City Garden’s email list, and Shaw’s company has also been getting a variety of phone calls from prospective purchasers, realtors, and community stakeholders who are simply curious about the project.
“It is pretty exciting to see this level of interest, and this is certainly one of the most engaged projects that I have worked on in terms of people following up, and purchasers ready to go,” Shaw said, adding that a significant number of people are looking to call City Gardens their home.
The first building is a 24-storey residential tower and while Shaw didn’t want to make his first day sales predictions known, he is eager to see how people will react.
“I think people should expect to be blown away. We are excited to showcase the show suite of the interior finishing, how things are going to look; and there are a couple of surprises that purchasers and the community will be happy to see when they visit the Show Suite & Sales Centre,” said Shaw.
Shaw noted that the project was coming on the market at a very necessary time as there is still high demand and a lack of supply in the Kamloops housing market, just as it is with the market in the rest of British Columbia.
Shaw believes that City Gardens will fill this void while being a benefit to Kamloops as a whole.
“I am so thrilled to see City Gardens come to fruition. To be able to welcome new residents to our downtown core, who will be able to experience the culture of our restaurants, parks and small businesses in the area will be a benefit to everyone.”
The Sales Center and Show Suite is located at 238 4th Avenue and is open Wednesday to Sunday 10:30am to 4:00pm.
