Block 7 on Gower Point Road in Gibsons — popularly known as Gospel Rock — has finally found a buyer.
The finance company Alta Pacific recently accepted an offer on the property after it was listed for $3.888 million, Kenan MacKenzie of Prudential Sussex Realty said last week.
“The only thing I’ve had indicated is that it’s a private estate,” MacKenzie said when asked about the new owners and what plans could be in store for the iconic site. “I would imagine they are going to develop, but all they told me was it’s a private estate.”
MacKenzie said he could not divulge the sale price until the deal was closed, but did say, “It had a three in it.”
The asking price dropped significantly after the property was taken over by the finance company, MacKenzie said. “I was getting pressure from the sellers to get the property sold.”
Last year, the previous owners had the property listed for $5.75 million. They had originally bought it for $8.5 million.
An online campaign asking for donations from the public to purchase Gospel Rock and “keep it in the community” was launched last month, but MacKenzie suggested the time for fundraising is past.
“Now it’s a bit too late,” he said. “Where were they a year ago? That’s the big question. Where was everybody a year ago?”
In October last year MacKenzie appeared before Gibsons council and made an appeal to secure the property for a park, offering to donate his commission toward the purchase.
“I don’t blame the Town, the Town has a lot of parks, but I would have liked to see Gospel Rock preserved,” MacKenzie said.
The listing noted the property is designated in Gibsons’ official community plan for future high-density development, permitting up to 400 units of commercial, apartment, townhome, cluster housing and single-family residential.
