Amenities at Harbourside Cohousing
Harbourside Cohousing enjoys a wealth of shared amenities that encourage connection and collaboration. Most of these amenities have their own team of volunteers, who look after the development and maintenance of these spaces.
Life at Harbourside is centred around our Commonhouse
Once the Sooke Ocean Resort, our open-concept character-filled Commonhouse features a central great room for gatherings, two communal kitchens, guest suite and two guest rooms, library, TV room, and additional laundry facilities. Our Commonhouse serves as an extension of our living spaces.
Communal Kitchens
Although each home has its own complete kitchen, our community kitchens in the Commonhouse allow individual households to host larger gatherings of family or friends. Shared meals in the Commonhouse also support relationships among neighbours. Our second kitchen is where messier productions can happen (e.g. making mead) and also serves as a smaller meeting space.
Co-Care Suite
Our co-care suite is available to temporarily accommodate a professional or family caregiver to provide extra support for care, e.g. during recovery from a hospital stay. Although most of the time it serves as a guest suite for visitors, co-care needs take priority.
Guest Rooms
Harbourside’s Commonhouse also has two guest rooms for short-term stays by visiting family and friends.
Library
Harbourside’s library is stocked by residents with a varied collection of books, magazines, and reference materials.
TV Room
Furnished with an interesting collection of comfortable seating, Harboursiders can attend weekly movie nights, sports game watch parties, or just come on their own to watch a movie on the big screen.
Beyond our Commonhouse
Fitness Gym
Harbourside’s fitness gym is equipped with an elliptical, C2 rower, and stationary bicycle. There are free weights, pulley weights, exercise balls and bands, and a yoga wall. Some Harboursiders employ a fitness instructor to come work with them individually.
Art Room
For our artists and crafters, Harbourside’s art room is a creativity space. Residents have contributed a variety of arts and crafts supplies, and the room is used for both group and individual projects.
Private Wharf
With boat moorage and on-dock kayak/canoe racks, our private wharf and dock structure is centrally located on the Sooke Harbour for easy access to fishing in the Juan de Fuca Strait or a leisurely paddle around the Sooke Basin. Our intrepid open water swimmers sometimes use it as a base — though not when the seals take it over as a nursery.
Workshop
Our workshop is a place for both creative and practical work. Individual projects and Harbourside’s maintenance projects may arise from this recently refurbished space. Our workshop is equipped with a table saw, chop saw, drill press, and a wide variety of donated power and hand tools.
Gardens & Orchard
In our vegetable gardens and orchard, some of our green-thumbs grow fruit and vegetables to share with the rest of the community. We also have several individual garden plots. Harbourside maintains all of its own landscaping — and weeding is almost always on the list of tasks for monthly work parties. We’re also are avid composters!
Bicycle Storage
Harbourside has a secure, covered bike racks.
Storage
Harbourside has indoor storage lockers, with one assigned for each unit.
Harbourside is designed with a focus on long term environmental sustainability.
Recycling & Garbage
Harbourside maintains a very comprehensive recycling and garbage system. Rubbish Team volunteers take recycling to the depot and garbage pickup is included in strata fees.
Composting
Harbourside also has several animal-safe Jora compost tumblers for kitchen scraps, which can produce high-quality compost.
Water Systems
Harbourside has underground cisterns and water storage tanks, which help keep water costs down. Water metering and hot water heating costs are included in strata fees.
Solar Power
In 2023, Viridian Energy Co-op installed 103 solar panels on the roof of our mid-rise apartment building. Solar power supplies approximately 50% of our community’s common electrical needs.
Land Stewardship
By committing to be good ecological stewards of our property and shoreline, Harbourside was granted Good Neighbour status by Habitat Acquisition Trust.