FOLLOW THE PATH TO ACTIVE LIVING
Harvest Hills development will feature network of green spaces that ‘engage’ new and nearby residents
Desirable open space is a central part of the plan for a northwest Calgary community that’s slated to come to market this autumn, says the company behind it.
The Parks of Harvest Hills is being developed by Cedarglen Homes, with Quantum Place Developments as the development manager.
The community will be constructed on land that previously belonged to the Harvest Hills Golf Course. Cedarglen announced the purchase of this land in 2014. “Designed as an active lifestyle community, a major feature of the Parks of Harvest Hills is the encompassing parks network that will engage new and surrounding residents,” says Howard Tse, president of Cedarglen Homes.
“The network of pathways will connect the various character nodes to each other, to the overall community, and to adjacent local and regional pathways that provide access to adjacent commercial, educational, retail, and recreational amenities,” he adds.
In planning the community, Tse says the company considered input from stakeholders, such as residents in established surrounding communities, community associations, and the City of Calgary.
“One of the things that came up was creating more public open space and green space,” says Tse. “We came up with two large (parks) — one being an activity node and the other having pathways around a water feature.”
The activity node, planned to include tennis courts and a playground, is dubbed Harvest Park. Harmony Park will have the water feature and pathways.
“There will be some sitting areas to just relax and enjoy (the water feature),” says Tse.
The Parks of Harvest Hills will commit more than 28 per cent of the 26-hectare (65-acre) community to accessible open space, along with the 1.4-hectare (3.5-acre) water feature.
At build-out, the community will have about 200 single-family homes and about 500 homes belonging to multi- family development, in two phases of development. The multi- family development will include both apartment-style condos and townhomes.
Semi-detached homes will be part of the community, as well.
Cedarglen Homes will be the exclusive single-family builder and Cedarglen Living will handle everything in the multi-family segment.
“Almost all single-family homes will have some access to green space,” says Allison Harvie, sales and marketing manager for Cedarglen Homes.
On the single- family home styles, which have yet to be unveiled, “We’re introducing new product to Cedarglen, and you’ve got some traditional product that we’re known for,” says Harvie.
The ability to purchase these homes prior to construction is expected to start in fall 2017.
Around this time, as well, Cedarglen is expecting to start construction on show homes in the community.
The community’s streetscape will include contemporary interpretations on classic architectural styles, says Cederglen, including Prairie, Farmhouse, and Craftsman designs.
“Throughout working with the community, the term ‘ like-to-like’ came up,” says Harvie of the homes in the established Harvest Hills community. “We wanted to make sure that the value statement was similar. It was important to Cedarglen to keep that like-to-like feature.”
She says all single-family homes built by Cedarglen Homes in the community will be James Hardieclad, known as a high-end material for the exterior of the home.
Residential development in the Parks of Harvest Hills will come in one of seven areas, Cedarglen calls character nodes, which are inspired by their location within the community or a nearby amenity.
They include Harvest Hills Manor, the Parks, Harvest Hills Way, the Gardens, the Terrace, the Rise, and the Island. The Island name is a nod to this area, in particular, being surrounded by green space. The Terrace and the Rise are the community’s multi-family sites.
Cedarglen Homes is currently selling homes in the communities of Auburn Bay, Cranston’s Riverstone, Livingston, the Rise at West Grove Estates, and Walden, while Cedarglen Living has developments in Nolan Hill, Seton and New Brighton.
Harvie says a common focus in the residential industry these days is the “customer experience.”
“I feel like we’ve got the homebuilder piece down and understand it really well,” she says. “Now we can take that experience all the way from the beginning of the development, knowing what we know, and create that feeling all the way through. I think there’s something to be said for that.”
On the appeal for potential homebuyers, Tse also points to the location of the new community. This includes multiple nearby commercial developments, including one anchored by a Sobeys grocery store. A movie theatre and the Vivo centre are close by, as well.
It’s near the employment node around the Calgary International Airport and will provide easy access to Deerfoot Trail.
Before releasing any details around the community, more than 900 people have already signed up on the community’s registration page.
“There are definitely a lot of people who are interested ... and are excited about what we’re doing here,” says Tse.
We came up with two large (parks) — one being an activity node and the other having pathways around a water feature.