Carla Wilson, Times ColonistPublished: Thursday, March 06, 2008
Celebrity friends Pamela Anderson and Geoff Courtnall have teamed up at plenty of charity events over the years. Now they're working together to develop a residential project on Anderson's grandparents' property in Ladysmith.
"It is something that Pamela is going to get very involved in - in the promotion and marketing of the project," Courtnall said yesterday. When news of plans for the 83-unit, condominium-townhouse development appeared on Anderson's website last year, 150 calls of interest poured in, he said.
Movie and television star, sex symbol and animal-rights advocate Anderson was raised in the historic community of close to 7,000, between Duncan and Nanaimo. Victoria native Geoff Courtnall coaches the Victoria Grizzlies, following a career as a professional hockey player with the National Hockey League. Their friendship is long-standing. "We have met over the years while I was playing hockey.... We have done different charity events together."
U.S. resident Anderson has returned to the Island to support charities. For example, she was a celebrity guest here in 2004 at the Courtnall Celebrity Classic golf tournament, aimed at raising funds for mental-health support. "She does a lot of charity events," Courtnall said. A development permit application from Anderson and Courtnall's company, Frontrow Developments, has been submitted to Ladysmith council for the five-acre waterfront site. A height variance is also required for the sloping property on the south side of the municipality.
The aim is to create an environmentally friendly development, Courtnall said. "We want to build a really nice quality project that we could be proud of."
About 60 citizens attended Saturday's open house in Ladysmith showcasing project plans, said Peter Laughlin, part-owner of Victoria's Wessex Project Management, development managers for the project. "We are going to be delivering an extremely high-quality product." Environmentally friendly features include a geothermal heat exchange system and pavement that is water-permeable, and a recirculating pond and stream to prevent heavy runoff, he said.
Anderson's grandparents operated a holiday cottage business on the site, which Anderson purchased a few years ago, he said. Along with 72 condominiums in three separate buildings, and 11 townhouses in three other buildings, plans call for moorage for up to 16 to 18 boats owned by development residents.
To minimize the building's footprint on the site, plans call for one seven-storey condo building, and two four-storey condo blocks. One of those four-storey blocks would be built into the bank on the waterfront, rising to just one level above ground, he said. The townhouses would be built in one- and two-level buildings.
The density proposed is less than is permitted under the current zoning, Laughlin said. "We have tried to leave large areas of green space and preserve as many trees as possible." If all goes smoothly, construction would start in the summer, with the build-out timeframe based on sales. The waterfront portion would be developed first, Laughlin said. Prices have not yet been determined for the units, which would range from about 1,200 to 1,500 square feet.
news source : http://www.canada.com/
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