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hadn't invested in it since 2008. So it looked
like your mom's living room from 2008.
We did it on a gnarly budget—[we] wanted
to refresh it with some new colours." Of
course, there were other expenses toward
modernizing the place: things like new TVs,
internet and fixing an exploded septic tank.
For Jivan himself, living full-time in a
cabin and making a fire every night has
been an adjustment. "When we were
about to move up here, I was like, 'Oh,
this is going to be sweet,'" he says. "And
Alyssa, who has actually lived in the coun-
try before, was like, 'No, it's not going to be
that nice.' But when I know something is
going to be a bit shitty, that's fine."
Quite literally in some cases, like when
the pump right beside his bedroom makes
the room shake every time someone
flushes the toilet. The juxtaposition of all
of that happening while Jivan's Tesla sits
outside is borderline comical.
But even as the Stonewater mostly
booked out in spring and is on track to sell
out its summer reservations, Jivan isn't
close to done with the place. Phase two
involves building small cabins and a spa.
Jivan estimates that work will be done by
summer and that the Stonewater will be
able to house 48 people. By the end of the
year, he plans to no longer be involved in
the Stonewater's day-to-day operations.
Meanwhile, Jivan has been negotiating
on another project—this one 10 acres—that's
only some 10 minutes away from the Stone-
water. It's all part of a larger plan. "There's
this whole area called Kleindale that's
recently been rezoned in the community
plan to be commercial," says Jivan. "The
goal is for it to be the new town centre for
Pender Harbour and Egmont. Currently,
it doesn't really have one—there are little
pockets, but no central town between the
three or four major areas [where] people
live in the region. I think it would be fun to
build all the way down. I don't see anyone
else trying." And so he'll take on the chal-
lenge, one fire at a time.
PLOT TWIST
Jivan and McDonald
now live in a cabin
on the Stonewater
property together—
while Jivan tries to get
his hands on another
10-acre project nearby
C h l ö e E li z a b e t h I m a g e r y
