Sometimes less is more. That is certainly the case for Gospel Rock, its untouched waterfront, and surrounding forest lands in Gibsons. For a couple of centuries or more, Gospel Rock has been a touchstone, a landmark for residents on the Coast. Captain Vancouver and his crew surveyed the rock and coastline when they moored their ships just a kilometre away in 1792. Today, thanks to an intelligent preservation plan, Gospel Rock, its shoreline, and the benchlands above it, will be protected by covenant from future development in perpetuity.
It wasn’t always that way. Over the past couple of decades, several attempts by different groups to develop the waterfront and the land were unsuccessful when opposing residents, environmental groups, and the town council objected to their plans. More recently, Greenlane Homes, the current owner of the property, presented a new vision, and Gibsons council agreed to a plan to preserve half of the 50-acre site around Gospel Rock. The agreement allows Greenlane to design and build a unique, sustainable seaside village on the higher land above and give the new residents and the public open access to the protected lands around it. The village plan cannot be expanded; it is locked in. And that is how Touchstone at Gospel Rock became real, and less became more.
Touchstone will be a community with a balanced plan that comes along once in a lifetime in a town the size of Gibsons. The balance in the plan is sustainable living with community involvement. Upon full completion in five to six years, the village will be a community where views will be paramount, with 350 townhomes, condos, detached homes, and ten percent market rentals. Many parking stalls will be pre-wired for electric vehicle charging, traffic impact will be minimal with most vehicles parked underground, the community and its surrounding preserved landscape will be walkable for both residents and public visitors, and the multi-family homes will be built to the town’s most recent sustainability codes.
Greenlane Homes is a Vancouver company that believes in focusing on communities and embracing local values. Its land and community planning teams, Modus Planning and JWY Architecture, work with governments, non-profits, and community groups to embrace creative solutions that make a difference. And recently, locally based Maycon Construction has been selected to provide all onsite and offsite civil work for the development. Greenlane has reached out to support the Gibsons Public Market and its Nicholas Sonntag Aquarium and Marine Education Centre, Habitat for Humanity, Gibsons Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, and other community initiatives that make a difference in their community.
They embrace the concept that Touchstone will be returning to what is real. Its residents will include locals and those escaping big-city living for the natural, coastal community environment that is the Sunshine Coast.
Our local arts community will be an integral part of Touchstone. The plaza next to the 55-room boutique hotel will be a gathering point for residents and the public to socialize and celebrate art and music during the many community events that will happen there. From the plaza a green lane, the main pathway, will allow people to access iconic gathering points like Little Africa to watch the sunrise, Crossrock to see it set, Gospel Rock, and its waterfront. From every location the views will add magic to your day.
Touchstone will commission local artists to paint and assemble their treasured works for all to enjoy at permanent locations throughout its village. This vibrant community, with approximately five hundred residents, together with visitors, will be significant social and economic contributors to the town of Gibsons and surrounding Sunshine Coast communities.
It takes a world-class team to conceive, design, and build such a master-planned community and bring Touchstone to life. For locals, that means we have a legacy to honour. And, for newcomers, it means we need to welcome them to this special place.
James Askew
President, rareEarth Project Marketing Ltd.
My first Sunshine Coast experience at age thirteen was spending a magical weekend on Thormanby Island, exploring, fishing and jumping off the dock—I was hooked on the Coast. In 2005 my family bought a cottage in Roberts Creek, where I lived out my childhood dream for 15 years. We are now “almost locals” moving into a more full-time residence, and actively integrating ourselves into this special community. Recently I joined the Board of Directors for the Gibsons Community Building Society which oversees the Gibsons Public Market and Nicholas Sonntag Marine Education Centre, and I am looking forward to working with this organization and others to support this great community. I have operated a boutique real estate marketing company called rareEarth Project Marketing since 2004, specializing in marketing and selling progressive resort and residential communities in Greater Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast. Working on Touchstone at Gospel Rock with our team is a privilege that I take very seriously as it will eventually represent the largest residential development on the Sunshine Coast, comprising over 10 percent of the population of Gibsons.
Catherine Ondzik
Sales Manager, rareEarth Project Marketing Ltd.
Sunshine Coast
Born and raised in Greater Vancouver, when it came to planting roots and raising my children, home was found on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in 1994 and to this day there is nowhere I’d rather be.
I’m a super proud Mom and Nana and although my kids no longer live here due to their careers, they revel in and have great appreciation for this very special place on every visit. The draw of such beautiful surroundings so close to the Salish Sea coastlines, forests with serene trails, and heart-filled communities along the Coast makes it a unique refuge in our world today.
I am passionate about dedicating my time to the ever-evolving profession I love as making a positive difference in people’s lives means the world to me. It is an honour and privilege to be Sales Manager of Touchstone at Gospel Rock on behalf on rareEarth Project Marketing Ltd. I am so excited to see it transform into the vibrant community it will be.
