The transformation of the Sylvan Lake marina into a luxury condominium complex with million-dollar suites overlooking the water and privately owned boat slips should begin this fall.
Al Laplante, one of three partners behind developer Sylvan Lake Harbour, said the first phase of WatersEdge Condominiums & Marina will involve the construction of a four-storey, L-shaped building that wraps around two sides of the marina. All 40 of its residential units will face the lake, with large balconies overhanging the water.
“If you were to lean over the balcony and drop a penny, it’s going into the water,” said Laplante.
The marina will be drained and rebuilt, with steel walls and a multimillion-dollar dock system installed. It will also be converted into a “dockominium,” said Laplante, with each slip having its own title for individual sale.
Unique in Alberta, a dockominium is possible at Sylvan Lake because the marina is located on private land off the lake, said Laplante.
“In Florida it’s done all the time.”
Work on the condominium and marina is scheduled to begin in October.
The building should be ready for occupants by the spring of 2014, and the new marina available for use by the May long weekend of 2013, said Laplante.
Units in the condominium will range in size from about 1,235 to more than 2,100 square feet, he said, with the top floor featuring loft suites with 20-foot-high windows. Balconies will measure up to 250 square feet.
Each unit will have a two-sided fireplace, one side of which will open onto the balcony, he added. The 11 appliances in each suite will include a gas range and a wine fridge.
“Most are two bedrooms and a den,” said Laplante.
The condominium will be served by a 94-stall heated parkade, located beneath the building but above the lake’s high-water mark. Residents will also have access to two “high-end” recreational boats that they can reserve for private use.
Prices will start at just over $490,000, said Laplante, with the most expensive units in excess of $1 million.
Slips in the marina will sell for between $52,000 and $70,000, with 173 of the approximately 179 spaces to be sold — including to the condominium owners. This will be a departure from the past, when space in the marina was leased to about 184 slip tenants.
Laplante said those users have been notified of the change, and many indicated a preference for ownership. He also pointed out that the marina’s boat launch will remain accessible to public.
In addition to increasing the average size of the boat slips from 14 to 21 feet, providing power connections to some and expanding the alleyways between, the redevelopment of the 40-year-old marina will result in its depth increasing and a security system being added.
A strip of land on the lake side of the marina will be turned over to the town for development of a walkway, said Laplante. This could eventually connect to the rest of the pedestrian walkway along the lakefront.
A second phase of construction at WatersEdge Condominiums & Marina will result in a second four-storey building. It will contain ground-level commercial space, 15 residential units on the upper floors, and space for residents to shower and store equipment like wakeboards and waterskis.
Laplante anticipates work on the second phase to begin about a year and a half after the first.
He said pre-selling of units in the first phase and of marina slips will begin on site this Saturday at noon.
“We have quite a list of people already who are wanting to get in.”
With total development costs of about $16 million, excluding the price of the land, WatersEdge Condominiums & Marina will be the biggest development in Sylvan Lake’s history, said Laplante.
“From a Central Alberta perspective, it’s going to be absolutely stunning.”
He expects buyers to include local residents, as well as people from elsewhere in the province who are seeking high-end recreational property or homes for retirement.
“I’m confident that Alberta will be able to support it.”
Sylvan Lake town council approved the first phase of WatersEdge Condominiums & Marina last Monday.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com