Belleville's Marinas - Victoria Park Marina and Bay of Quinte Yacht Club

There is a quiet little spit of land running west then south off of South Front Street, Belleville’s main downtown street.
When you turn onto it , you are overcome by a gentle feeling as the mouth of the Moira River comes into view. Leaving behind the hustle and bustle of Belleville’s main intersection, you gaze suddenly on wide open space and giant old maples and pines. You are surrounded by water.

Waves gently lap the shore and the scent of the River's spray fills the air. A heron takes flight from one of the small wharves as you continue down the narrow roadway. As you gaze towards the mouth of the Moira River, you see an island.
You notice it is covered by a myriad of water birds. Cormorants, Gulls, a Heron, the odd Canada Goose family and Mallard Ducks forage nearby.

You breathe a deep sigh and are thankful for this small oasis in the middle of the city where you can escape, temporarily, the stresses of your day.

To your left you notice a harbour filled with sailboats, small houseboats and powerboats.
Boaters are relaxing on the docks, visiting with friends and sharing in a cool drink. The shade under the giant old trees that grow on the spit invites you to step out of your car, spead an old blanket and rest awhile. You take off your sandals and dig your toes into the cool grass. As you rest your head back and let your eyes wander upwards to the twisted shady branches, a glimmer of blue sky catches your eye and the breeze gently caresses your bare ankles.

This is Victoria Park and Victoria Park Marina in Belleville, Ontario. It is my favourite place to take a break during my busy day or when I have deep thinking to do and need to be in a nearby place that has all the elements of so many things I love; old trees, stone buildings, boats, water, people enjoying being alive, gull cries, quietude and open spaces.

If you arrive in Belleville by water, Victoria Harbour is found on your starboard side just as you enter the mouth of the Moira River. Victoria Park is the spit of land that shelters Victoria Park Marina and the
Bay of Quinte Yacht Club.

Within walking distance of Victoria Park Marina are many wonderful restaurants, banks, quaint shops of every kind , the Belleville Farmer’s Market and the waterfront trails which run along the Bay of Quinte waterfront and the Moira River waterfront.
The Boathouse Seafood Restaurant is a lovely waterfront restaurant that sits on the east shore of Victoria Park Marina. There are plenty of dockside seating areas where you can enjoy a meal of fresh pickerel or the catch of the day while you sit under the shade of an umbrella and watch the boats coming and going. I highly recommend it. The service is excellent and the menu is extensive.

If you are considering retiring or moving to a waterside town with excellent boating facilities, I would be happy to send you a Belleville and Quinte Region Relocation package, free of charge. Mention the type of properties you may be interested in and I will be sure to include a full list of all currently available listings that meet your needs/desires.

Have a safe and happy boating season and I look forward to one day meeting you !

JoSmith©

At What Price, A Waterfall ?

How do we place a value on a natural feature of a property that not only enhances the beauty of the place, but contributes greatly to the well-being of anyone who spends time there ?

I am in the process of listing a number of pieces of vacant land near a northern lake .
Each is unique and wild and beautiful. One has a granite ridge that looks out over a small tranquil harbour on the lake. Two of them have very large ponds that I would be comfortable calling small lakes. On one of them a number of dead elms are in the centre of the pond and a heronry can be found.

The smallest one of the 5 is a magical, tucked away triangle with it's own gentle series of waterfalls cascading down the granite ridges. What is it worth to sit on your stone patio at the end of a stressful week and gaze dreamily at the trickles of water and little whitecaps, the sounds reaching through to your soul and soothing all the sorrows of the world from your aching being ?
These are magical pieces of land. Filled with earth sprites and glimmering greens of dancing, white birch branches and the rustle of old oaks.
The scent of pine and moss infuses your being as you sit on your patio. Easing back into your old lounge chair, you begin to drift away.
An oriole sings from a distant elm top. A loon calls to it's mate across the lake in the distance. All is right with the world here.

I have often thought of the steadily growing numbers of people, including children, who are prescribed anti-depressants in today's society. I have wondered and wondered why depression is on the increase in such massive numbers.
Then I remember, we have lost touch with the natural world.

Our souls cry out in thirst on city streets and grasp what flits and glimpses of nature they can from what the city has to offer . It isn't much.
We plant roof-top and balcony gardens. We sit in the evening and gaze across the cityscape through the smog of ten thousand daily commutes and our eyes rest on the soft peach glow of the clouds in the distance . The sun is setting for another day.

Tomorrow it will all begin again. For now, I must get back to putting a price on a waterfall.

JoSmith

Belleville's Marinas - Meyer's Pier

I recently had a friend contact me to tell me he is thinking of retiring in Belleville. He currently resides in a suburb of Toronto. One of his main considerations for choosing Belleville is the Belleville Harbour and marina facilities.
My friend is the Captain of a sailboat crew and relishes his time spent on the water smoothly slicing the water's crest, the breeze ruffling his hair and his shirt unbuttoned as he feels the cool, clean air caressing his chest.

This is his version of heaven. It happens to be mine also, so I can well appreciate the exceptional boating facilities Belleville has to offer.

Belleville , Ontario is a main stopping off point for boaters travelling the thousand islands through to Georgian Bay. The navigable season runs roughly from Victoria Day weekend to Thanksgiving each year.

Along Belleville's waterfront you will find a number of government run marina and docking facilities as well as a few smaller privately run ones.

Starboard of Belleville's main harbour, you will find Meyer's Pier Marina. It is owned and operated by the City of Belleville and is a fully equipped marina with plenty of docking facilities for overnight travelers. Dockage may be had by the day, month or season as well as there being a number of transient slips for boaters stopping by to refresh their stocks. Boaters will find water, power, washrooms, showers, pump-out, gas, diesel, and laundry facilities here . Sail repair can be had nearby. (613) 967-1906

There are good channel depths as you enter the Meyer’s Pier Marina.

Meyer’s Pier dates back to 1789 when Belleville was first known as Meyer’s Creek after John Walden Meyers, a prominent settler and industrialist of the day. Meyer’s Creek was built around the original Native settlement of Asukhknosk at the mouth of the Moira River .

Within walking distance of Meyer’s Pier you will find Belleville’s downtown with numerous fine restaurants, a pharmacy, general purpose stores and boutiques. There are a number of small grocery stores not too far away by foot in case you have run out of a few essentials.

If you enjoy the wind in your hair, the sun warming your bare skin, heading to the boat at the end of the day , even if it is just to sit in the harbour and visit with friends, Belleville is the place to consider when deciding to relocate or thinking of a beautiful stop on your boating itinerary this summer.

JoSmith

A Measure of Success.

It seems I have to work harder at writing a good real estate blog post, then I do a post about life. Most of the posts that come naturally to me are about feelings, observations, people, relationships, journeys and serendipitous occurrences.

I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit this morning . Thinking about it while I mixed my blueberry muffin batter. Thinking about it as I gazed out the window beside my desk at the gently waving Sugar Maple leaves and clear soft blue sky. Thinking about it as I talked with people who called me about properties in my latest Real Estate Today ad . Thinking about it as I prepared my open house packages.

I write about life. Focusing strictly on a real estate article takes extra effort for me. It does not come naturally like writing about life does. But then I also find that the way I operate my business is that way.
It is not strictly a business, but moreso a feeling of being immersed in the lives of my clients for a temporary basis as I assist them in the transition they are making in their lives.

To me it is more about finding a place with giant trees and a garden fence for the client who values her privacy and loves nature, finding a safe area and a decent house that is not too expensive for the young family I am working with who has just had their first child, being as gentle and as caring as possible with the person who has just lost their spouse of 40 odd years and now has decided to sell the old homestead that holds too many memories and is far too large .

Real estate, I realized after much thought, is life. We deal in lives. Dealing in real estate, the concrete aspect of it, may seem like the largest part of what we do. But is it really ?

The true measure of my success is not the home that I have just sold, or the perfect property I have just found for my clients. No. The true measure of my success is when I see a small tear escape the eye of someone I am working with because I have touched a deep part of them and have understood. The true measure of my success is when a client reaches out and hugs me at the end of our search for a home or when I have sold their home.

This is how I measure my success. It is how I have touched my clients lives and made the steps they take in their daily journey a little easier for them.

In recent years I have received more and more heart felt hugs from my clients. These are the motivation that keeps me knowing that being a Realtor® is what I am meant to do.

Jo

Buying Waterfront in the Quinte Region

Thinking of moving to the Quinte region ? Perhaps you would like to consider one of our lovely waterfront properties. Waterfront in the Quinte area is still reasonably priced compared with other areas of Ontario and the nearby amenities make purchasing here very attractive and a lucrative investment when looking at the long term.

Vacant Land -Waterfront There were 10 waterfront vacant pieces of land sold in the Quinte District in the month of May. The average selling price was $83,190.00 . Waterfront lots (deeded water access lots are also included in this
category ) can still be had at a reasonable price in the Quinte area. 17 waterfront vacant lots were listed in the month of May at an average list price of $171,064.71 .

Residential - Waterfront There were 53 waterfront properties sold in the Quinte region in May that were classified as residential. This includes condominiums, homes and seasonal cottages on the water or with deeded water access. The average sales price was $300,419.32

The higher end waterfront properties in the Quinte region are usually those found on the Bay of Quinte or on Lake Ontario. There are numerous Lakes in the Quinte area and it's surrounding regions (all within 45 minute drive from Belleville , Ontario). Moira Lake continues to be a destination of choice for many tourists and cottagers in the summer season and many people from the cities of Belleville and Trenton have cottages there. There are also many permanent residences on Moira Lake. Waterfront properties can still be found at a very reasonable price on the lake. For a complete list of properties presently available on Moira Lake (and/or all waterfront properties in the Quinte Region ) send me your email . I will be happy to forward you a list with links that will give you extensive information on everything currently available there.

Lake Ontario waterfront continues to be one of the prime choices for people moving to the shore in our area. Vacant land on Lake Ontario generally commands a price well over $150,000. Many fine homes have been built along the Lake Ontario shoreline in Prince Edward County and also in the Brighton region.

When buying waterfront property in any area, it is a good idea to first do extensive research on the community itself and most importantly on the qualities of the lake and it's history. For a complete list of the lakes in the Quinte and District region and a description of their qualities, please contact me. I would be happy to send you this information.

Head to the Beach !

Rob, my 19 year old son, breezes into the room
and announces 'I'm going to the beach , Mom !'.
'Oh, that's nice.', I reply as I turn my head and gaze out at the warm, late spring day.
My eye wanders over to the pool area where the workmen are readying it to be opened. Yes. Summer has almost arrived .

It already feels like summer here in Southern Ontario with temperatures regularly reaching into the high twenties . I turn my attention back to Rob and ask 'Which beach are you going to?'.
'Sandbanks', he cheerfully replies.

'Who are you going with?'
'Kyle, he is waiting outside. It's Beach Day in Ontario.', Rob announces. '

'Beach Day?' I ask. 'What's that?'.

'It is a day when all university, college and high school students across Ontario head to the beach. There will be thousands of us at the various beaches across Ontario today. ' , he explains.

My heart skips a beat and I find myself feeling a degree happier than I did before Rob explained this to me. Beach Day ! What a wonderful idea !

Ontario + Beaches + Celebrating Life + Young People. Yes, as I think back to my own teenage days, the tradition continues. Only now they have a name for it !

Happy Beach Day, everyone !

A Story In The Making.

The morning sun peeks mischievously around the corner of your breakfast cove window and falls upon your hand as you reach for your morning newspaper. A friend sits across from you and gazes out the window to the gently waving maple branches that grace your side yard. Your friend has never been to Belleville before and you are anxious to show them all the beauty that can be found here. Where should you take them ?

As you gaze in deep reflection at the tiny pink roses on your Tranquility coffee mug, an idea
enters your mind . Why, you’ll take them to The Corby Rose Garden !

This time of year is almost prime for viewing the hundreds of varieties of roses in the garden as their flower buds swell and begin to open. And the scents ! Did I mention the scents ? They’re glorious ! Yes. This is a perfect place to plan to spend a few hours today. You exuberantly tell your friend about The Corby Rose Garden and she agrees she would love to see it ! You decide to pack a small lunch to bring along. There are so many comfy old wooden benches resting serenely beneath the cool shade of giant old tulip trees, and the two of you have so much to catch up on . What better place than an old garden surrounded by beautiful roses and graceful trees ?