– People with $5,000 reserve spots may buy all 153 units –

(OSOYOOS TIMES — September 27, 2006) –

As the large Watermark Beach Resort “ proposed for the downtown Osoyoos packinghouse property “ moves slowly through the Town's development approval process, its owners are gearing up to sell all of the resort's 153 units next week.
Watermark's marketing manager, James Askew, told the Osoyoos Times the developers will hold an all-day sales event next Wednesday, October 4, at the Pan-Pacific Hotel in Vancouver.
Askew says people who have already expressed interest in the Watermark's luxury condo units, by putting down a $5,000 deposit, have appointments to meet at the event with the developers, architects, interior designers, sales representatives and bank representatives. They will have first option to buy units. If they choose not to, their deposits are refundable.
The Waterfront Beach Resort includes 153 suites in a four-storey main building and five smaller townhouse-style buildings. It will feature an 1,800-square-foot outdoor pool, hot tubs, a restaurant and patio, a poolside wine and tapas bar, a fitness club and spa, a 200-person conference centre, retail stores along Main Street, and underground parking. Furnished one-bedroom units are being advertised for sale from the mid-$300,000s and furnished two-bedroom units from the mid-$400,000s.
The project has received more than 2,000 requests for information from interested people, Askew says, adding every day the project gets more deposits from those reserving spots for the sales day.
We expect to sell a lot of the vacation homes and beachfront residences (on October 4). We're in a position to sell all the suites in one day, Askew says.
He notes people will sign a sales contract on the sale day in Vancouver. All money that they put down on their units will be held in trust, and the sales are contingent on the development receiving its financing and the Town approvals and building permits.
In the meantime, representatives of the developer have met with Town officials and local committees, to address concerns about a number of issues, including public access to the beach and a public pathway along the lakeshore.
Chad Lefevre, publicist for the Watermark proposal, says the developer, Osoyoos Shoreline Development, has hired a number of consultants to provide Town Council with detailed reports on how the project will handle issues of concern such as traffic flow and storm-water drainage.