GOOD-TO-GO APPEAL OF AUBURN BAY
Established amenities are a draw for buyers
When Dom and Steph Kazmierczak set out to buy a new home, part of the criteria was they wanted to move to a community that was mature.
An area where the elements making it convenient and enjoyable were either already in place or a short wait away.
That meant staying put in Auburn Bay, where the couple is currently renting a townhome after moving from Nottingham, England just over a year ago.
“We knew the community and we love the character and all the services being set up,” says Dom, add- ing they liked that Auburn Bay is nearing completion. He and Steph bought through Jayman Built in its final phase earmarked for homes in the move-up segment. Cedarglen Homes is the other builder in this phase.
“The main reason for going with a more established community was that we knew what the area was like that all the schools, parks and other amenities have pretty much been developed,” Dom says. “We also both wanted to have the ability to walk or cycle to everything in our neighbourhood and most of the pathways to everything you need are complete now in Auburn Bay.”
The community, which launched in 2005, is expected to be about two years away from wrapping up development, says its developer, Brookfield Residential. When complete, it will have 7,000 homes and a population of about 17,000 people.
“I think they can see the end and that it’s almost complete,” says Jessie Seymour, on the buyer’s approach to Auburn Bay.
She’s senior marketing manager for Brookfield in Calgary.
“The fact that it’s almost fully developed, they’re seeing this as an established community.”
Among the benefits of a community that’s reached the later stretch of development are the dining and shopping opportunities.
The Kazmierczaks liked that about Auburn Bay, pointing to the under-construction commercial development, anchored by a grocery store, dubbed Auburn Station.
They were also impressed by the community’s quick access to major mixed-use centre Seton. “It looks really well planned,” says Dom.
Seton is 141 hectares, making it one of the largest mixed-use sites in the city.
When complete, the proposed Green Line LRT will run from Seton to Livingston, which is a new community under development by Brookfield in Calgary’s north.
Seton’s first completed phase of retail is its Gateway District, which includes businesses such as SaveOn-Foods, Shoppers Drug Mart and Good Earth Coffeehouse.
MEC was recently announced as a future tenant for Seton, which is expected to open in fall 2018.
“Seton is humming,” says Seymour. “I think there’s a lot more than just people who want to live here that are interested in this end of the city. We are seeing a lot of very unique retail partners come in to the area, which has been fantastic.”
Auburn Station is an 84,000-square-foot commercial complex on Auburn Meadows Drive that’s set to open this December. Its confirmed tenants include a Co-op grocery store, gas bar and Wine Spirits and Beer Store, along with an A&W and Tim Hortons.
“It seems like it’ll have everything you’ll need. So you’ll never really have to travel very far,” says Steph on the amenities in and around Auburn Bay.
She says, it’ll be nice not to have to use their car every time they want to shop or get something to eat, adding they’d likely cycle instead.
Another signature piece to Auburn Bay’s community design is the outdoor spaces. It has 57 hectares of land committed to green space, including parks, ponds, private parks, tot lots and a dog park.
There’s also a 17-hectare freshwater lake.
“In the U. K., they don’t really have anything like that. You don’t have lake communities,” says Steph. “It’s a new idea. So we probably haven’t used it as much as we should. But I think we’ll use it more once we get into the house and more settled.”
Dom and Steph are moving to a large cul-de-sac of 91 lots on Au- burn Bay’s north end. It includes some lots that back on to a future school site and is walking distance to an off-leash dog park in the community.
The homes are a zero lot line format, which means they’re built up against one side of the lot, which saves the buyer money on land prices.
This phase has single-car garage homes on 25-foot wide lots and double car attached garage homes on lots that are 29 feet wide.
Jayman and Cedarglen both have two show homes, one in each garage segment.
The Kazmierczaks bought Jayman’s Vivid model, which is a 1,771 square foot home with a two car front-attached garage, and will take possession in September.
Auburn Bay has a wide assortment of housing types, including estate homes by Morrison Homes, Albi Luxury by Brookfield Residential and now Crystal Creek Homes.
Crystal Creek opened its first show home in the community earlier this month. The luxury builder is showcasing its Berkshire II floor plan, which measures 2,831 square feet.
The community also has laned single-family homes by Brookfield and duplexes by Brookfield, Morrison and Homes by Avi. Cardel Lifestyles, Avi Urban and Stone Croft are offering apartment-style condos in the community, as well.