FIRESIDE MELTS HEARTS
Family trades Ontario for Cochrane, looks forward to the outdoor life
Jonas Lirantzis was on a travel schedule that wasn’t going to make sense for the long haul.
He works for a company that repairs hail damage on vehicles. And because of the high frequency of these storms in the Calgary area, during the season he’d spend a lot of time away from his home in Brantford, Ont., a small city southwest of Toronto.
“It’s steady work here,” Jonas says of the Calgary area. During the busy season, he’d average only three or four days in Brantford each month.
He and his wife, Erin, have two young daughters. And while his family would usually travel with him, this was their oldest daughter’s first year in junior kindergarten, meaning they had to stay put.
As Jonas puts it, regularly spending that much time away “wasn’t going to pan out in the long term.”
“So, we decided to make the jump,” he adds.
The Lirantzises put down roots in the Calgary area, buying in the Cochrane community of Fireside.
For a growing family, there was a lot to consider before determining where to purchase their home. A K-8 school, under construction and slated to open this September in Fireside, helped them decide.
“That was a big thing,” says Jonas. “My wife is able to walk the kids to school, especially in their early years.” He estimates their home to be about a 10-minute walk away.
The addition of a school has been an important feature for young families, says Justin Mauro, general manager of La Vita Land, Fireside’s developer.
“It’s extremely convenient,” Mauro says. “For people who are looking to have a family or (already) have young children that are going to be school age soon, it makes nothing but sense.”
For the Lirantzis family, Cochrane was a fit on a few levels.
The value was there. Jonas compared similar homes in Cochrane to communities he had seen in Calgary and found better affordability.
Drawing back to their home in Brantford, and its population of about 100,000 people, the family likes that they’ll be able to continue to enjoy the “relaxed” pace that comes from a smaller centre, says Jonas.
And Fireside’s quick access to Highway 1 makes drives to Calgary more convenient, he adds.
The young family likes Cochrane’s proximity to the Rocky Mountains.
“We’d like to try and be more outdoorsy,” Jonas says. “We like the idea of just being to go on a day trip and do some hiking, and just out enjoy the outdoors and do some of the fun things that are offered there.”
Fireside is currently selling in its seventh, eighth, and ninth phases of development, where Mauro says, “There’s a variety of product.”
This includes single- family homes of the front-attached garage and laned varieties, front at- tached garage and laned duplexes, and townhomes. Builders include Calbridge Homes, ReidBuilt Homes, Janssen Homes, NuVista Homes, Landmark Homes and Brookfield Residential.
The starting price on singlefamily homes in these phases is $350,000.
Fireside’s sixth phase of development, featuring the community’s most high-end homes yet, is expected to open later this year. This is the community’s first stretch of semi-estate single-family homes, featuring 38- and 40-foot wide lots. Building this end of Fireside will be Calbridge, ReidBuilt and Janssen.
Fireside will continue to add services for its residents this year, with more coming for its commercial site dubbed the Embers. Joining the Shell gas station and Tim Hortons, already open, will be a phase composed of a doctor and dentist offices, a pharmacy, takeaway pizza restaurant, and liquor store. La Vita expects these businesses to be open in July.
The Lirantzis family bought the Bellvue model through Calbridge in an earlier phase of the community, on a lot that backs on to green space and includes a mountain view.
“People see the mountains as being picturesque, and when you can look out your window and just unwind from the workday, or just relax in the backyard, it’s something to look forward to, for sure,” says Jonas.
The Bellvue is a change of pace from the 125-year-old home they had in Brantford, where there “was not a whole lot of openness” or an emphasis on natural light, Jonas says.
Quite the opposite in their Calbridge house.
“The floor plan we found is really open,” says Jonas. “We really liked that idea.”
They also appreciate the shared spaces and opportunity for connections on the main level, and generously sized bonus room on the second floor.
The move comes with another welcome upgrade, says Jonas. They were all sharing one bathroom at their previous home. At their new place, there’s a full bathroom for their daughters and large ensuite with dual vanities for Jonas and Erin.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
WHAT: Fireside is a community in Cochrane.
DEVELOPER: La Vita Land. BUILDER: Calbridge Homes, ReidBuilt Homes, Janssen Homes, NuVista Homes, Landmark Homes and Brookfield Residential.
PRICES: Single-family homes start from the $350,000s.
HOURS: Show homes are open 2 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
INFORMATION: firesidecochrane. com