The co-housing project planned for Parksville has shifted to Qualicum Beach.
"It was pretty funny as we started getting into it it turned out all my most dedicated people, doing the work for Parksville, were actually from Qualicum Beach," said Gary Morrison, president and founder of LiveWell Cohousing Developments.
The Vancouver based company was moving ahead with plans for a project on a portion of the empty lot beside the Parksville community centre, about to host a "Getting it Built" workshop, when they realized most of the dedicated people looking to build and live in the development would actually prefer to be in Qualicum Beach.
Described as a townhouse strata style development with a lot more social and community involvement from the residents, Morrison said they are now hoping to fast-track two Qualicum Beach projects and the Parksville plan will slow down as they look for more interest.
LiveWell will host a meeting Jan. 26 to begin the work of reviving the old Valterra Village eco-housing concept on 30 forested acres on Laburnum Rd. in the southwest corner of the city, and a separate more urban project as close to downtown as possible.
Morrison said the shift in communities will set back the six months work they have done by around four months, but in some ways they are ahead of the game in Qualicum Beach where they already have interested potential residents and some of the groundwork already laid by the original failed Valterra proposal.
The next meeting is at the Qualicum Beach Community Hall from 1 p.m. —
4 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 26.
For more information visit www.LiveWellcohousing.ca and
www.valterravillage.ca.