UPDATE: 1,516-acre Black Mountain Estates property listed for $18M has sold

(UPDATE: Feb. 11 @ 12:15 pm) - Scott Marshall, realtor and associate broker at RE/MAX Kelowna, as well as the buyer's agent for this sale, has provided more information on the Black Mountain Estates property.

Marshall explained that the property was listed for $18 million, but can't disclose what the final purchase price was.

The sale actually occurred in mid-2020, but is just now being reported for the sake of privacy.

While the listing said the property was a great opportunity for a long-term focused investor or for large lot estate development, Marshall doesn't see that happening anytime soon.

"They have plans in place to continue it as an agricultural use," he explained to KelownaNow.

"Unless (the Province) changes their stance and allows for agriculturally viable land to become developed, I can't see anything other than agriculture occur there within my generation."

Not only was the intent of the purchase to keep it as agricultural use, but developing the land would be so complex with the Province and the value reflects that.

As a comparison, the Kirschner Mountain development, a much smaller piece of land that isn't Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) and is zoned for residential development, recently sold for $22 million.

If the Black Mountain Estates development wasn't ALR and was zoned for residential development, Marshall said we'd be talking about a sale more in the ballpark of $75 million, given that it's eight times the size of the Kirschner Mountain sale.

"This was priced as agricultural land and the intent is to keep it as that," he added.

So for the foreseeable future, don't expect much to change for this property even though it's in new hands, as it will continue to be used as graze land and possibly a spot where crops will be planted.

(Original story: Feb. 10 @ 6:05 pm) - For the second time in less than a month, there’s been a monumental real estate transaction in the Central Okanagan.

In January, it was the $22-million sale of the Kirschner Mountain development to a buyer from Manitoba.

This week, it’s an $18-million sale of Black Mountain Estates, which is 1,516 acres of land along the eastern boundary of Kelowna off Hwy 33.

Nearly 200 acres of the land is within the City of Kelowna, while the rest falls within the Regional District of Central Okanagan.

“The property offers rolling hills and a gentle topography, providing excellent grazing land for livestock,” says the real estate listing for the site.

“Black Mountain, one of the largest mountains in the area, stands as a prominent backdrop to the property providing south facing slopes and dramatic lake and mountain views.”

The unique 11-parcel property is just a 17 minute drive from downtown Kelowna and is considered a great opportunity for a long-term focused investor or for large lot estate development.

No information is currently available on who purchased the land.