Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Pacific Sands Resort in Tofino going back on the market in new year

The Pacific Sands Resort in Tofino will be going back to the market in the new year after the property failed to attract a satisfactory bid during a fall sale process.
Pacific Sands-5.jpg
An aerial view of Pacific Sands Resort in Tofino, which the Pettinger family is putting up for sale again in the new year.

The Pacific Sands Resort in Tofino will be going back to the market in the new year after the property failed to attract a satisfactory bid during a fall sale process.

According to Randy Holt, vice president of DTZ Victoria Real Estate, the property sparked plenty of interest and a number of offers.

“There was a wide cross-section of interest and a number of expressions of interest, but none have yet been strong enough from the seller’s point of view, so they are reflecting on the results of our efforts to date, and I expect we will come back to the market in early 2014,” he said.

Holt said next time, they are likely to put a price on the resort.

At the end of August, when Pacific Sands went on the market, the Pettinger family, which has owned it for 40 years, opted for a negotiated bid process.

For two months, they were open to proposals that were evaluated on a variety of criteria including the price offered, deal structure, the buyer's ability to complete the transaction and the proposed completion date.

Holt would not tip his hand as to what a possible selling price could be.

The offering includes 77 suites and two single-family residences overlooking Cox Bay and features 1,000 feet of beachfront and more than 1,600 feet of rocky shoreline at the bay’s north end.

The suites range in size from 465 to 1,440 square feet with fully equipped kitchens and ocean views.

More than 18 acres of the property are zoned “tourist commercial,” which can be developed offering more capacity on the waterfront.

There are also a guest-services office, a second administration building, 15 cottages and two mobile homes for staff housing, a laundry building, a beachside gazebo, a geo-thermal heating plant and a workshop.

The Pettinger family, which started with 17 rustic cabins and grew it into a resort with 45 staff, has said the resort needs a new perspective and fresh capital for future development.

aduffy@timescolonist.com