PEMBERTON’S CRESTLINE CATERS TO YOUNG CROWD
Homes in development cost ‘half of what you would pay in Whistler’
While rent and housing prices can make it hard for all but the wellheeled to work or play in Whistler, up the road about 30 minutes, the village of Pemberton is fast becoming the home of choice for the more modest wage earner.
The Crestline, a new development of 36 townhouse and garden apartments, is located in Pemberton, a village of 2,500 that sits on the floor of the Pemberton Valley, which has warmer summers and cooler winters than Whistler.
“Pemberton is made up of younger working couples who have an upper limit to what they can pay. It’s a very young community with an average age in the mid-thirties,” said Stephen Duke, executive vice-president of Alture Properties, the firm developing the project. “These are attainable homes that are priced at half of what you would pay in Whistler. This is where the couples go to have babies.”
The Crestline consists of two buildings, with the homes built with one, two or three levels. Some will have rooftop spaces providing panoramic views of Mount Currie and the Coast Range peaks encircling the area. Renderings of the project show the influence Whistler exerts, with the use of natural stone and timbers, and small dormer-like peaks and gables.
“Our location is our selling feature,” said Duke, adding the project is being built for the lifestyle of people who live in and around Pemberton.
The development will be located next to a new community centre, library, daycare, a water and skateboard park, and a planned community garden.
The underground parking area has room for storing snowmobiles, which locals use to reach the Pemberton Ice Cap and Birken, which Duke says makes Pemberton one of the most popular snowboarding areas west of the Rockies.
“It’s the lifestyle that appeals to the people who are there, and we have factored that into the buildings themselves,” Duke said. “All the homes have outdoor living space with a roof deck or garden patio. There is parking for pickup trucks, and we put storage lockers right next to the parking, so you can unload your kayak or snowboards or your golf bags.”
All the open-living plans have nine-foot ceilings, flat stock trim and baseboards painted white. Flooring is wide-plank V-groove engineered laminate in a smoked finish called Nordic Oak. There is broadloom in all bedrooms and staircases, and large-format black porcelain tiling in the entryway.
Kitchens come with a complete package of Blomberg appliances, including induction range, refrigerator, dishwasher, hood fan, microwave, washer and dryer. Kitchen cabinetry is a two-tone design with wood-look flat slab doors on the base cabinets and gloss white slab doors with concealed hardware. There are quartz countertops and a porcelain backsplash.
Bathrooms have modern floating vanities with quartz countertops and rectangular sinks, and master ensuites have spacious two-person shower stalls and a natural finish porcelain floor tile. Buyers can choose from a few upgrade options, including remote-controlled motorized roller blinds on living, dining and master bedroom windows and over-height cabinetry with flat stock moulding trim that reaches to the ceiling.
Cailey Wilkes and her husband Alex both work in the area, Cailey as a wedding planner and Alex for Tourism Whistler. Cailey, from northern England, and Alex, from Australia, have lived in the area for a few years.
“We’ve done quite a lot of hiking and camping and have fallen in love with the Sea-to- Sky corridor,” said Cailey.
They’re not the only ones to be smitten by Pemberton. Cailey’s mother and father, who live in Spain, fell in love with the area visiting Cailey and her brother. They now dream of retiring there, Cailey said, and have plans to help her and Alex buy a home at Crestline.