A HOME AND GARDEN WITH ROOM TO GROW
Legacy’s abundant green and open spaces offer family perfect place for their young twins — and green thumbs — to thrive
If anything gets a couple thinking about a move to a larger home, it’s a newborn baby.
Or in this case, two.
Winn Liu and Anna Wu have twins named Zoey and Luka, who are now 10 months old.
For the past nine years, the couple has lived in a 1,400-square-foot townhome in Millrise. But with the additions to their household, it was time to upgrade.
“We needed a bigger house for them,” says Winn.
On the advice of a friend, they started the search for their next home by looking into what Albi Luxury by Brookfield Residential had available.
They ended up at the builder’s sales centre in Legacy, where its Lavello 2 model, displayed as a show home, won their hearts. The home is 3,044 square feet, and has a developed walk-out basement tacking on another 1,117 square feet, along with a three-car garage.
Coincidentally, this gave the Liu and Wu family an award-winning combination. At the recent Calgary Region SAM (Sales and Marketing) Awards, Brookfield Residential was crowned Builder of the Year, and Legacy picked up its second straight title for Community of the Year-City of Calgary.
Legacy is a community in southeast Calgary master-planned by WestCreek Developments.
On the home, Liu says the design is “very open,” and says they love how the back wall is, “basically, all big windows.” The result being an abundance of natural light.
The couple also says building with Albi left them little need to tick the boxes on a list of possible upgrades.
“Albi is high-end,” says Winn. “We didn’t have to change very much because everything is standard.”
The Lavello 2 gives them four large bedrooms, providing space for each child long-term, and a room for Wu’s parents, who are staying with the family to assist with child care.
Their home is built on one of the estate ridge lots in the community, which is a highlight for the family, as well.
Calbridge Homes and Morrison Homes build on this end of the community, too.
These lots look over an environmental area and stand about 150 feet above the scenic Pine Creek Valley.
“There is nobody behind us, all open space,” says Liu.
Their lot in particular, sides on to a green space, meaning they only have neighbours on one side.
The ridge lots in Legacy surround the site of some high-profile public art. Late last year, actress and artist Jane Seymour unveiled a sculpture in the community of two connected hearts. This is the first in Seymour’s Open Hearts collection of fine art to be on display in a public place.
For the Liu and Wu family, another perk that came from their move from a townhome to a spacious single- family home was the opportunity to put the green thumbs of the family to work. They used their large backyard for a garden with flowers, and vegetables including tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, peppers and green beans.
Legacy also opened a community garden earlier this year.
Beyond estate homes, Legacy also has front-drive single-family models by Trico Homes, Calbridge, Jayman Built, Stepper Homes, Sterling Homes, and WestCreek Homes, along with laned models by Jayman, Stepper and Shane.
For attached home buyers, it has duplexes by Shane and Trico, townhomes by Trico, Stepper, and Aldebaran Homes, along with con- dos by Carlisle Group and Brad Remington Homes.
Wu and Liu both work downtown, and before deciding where to buy, considered what their commute would be like each morning.
“Legacy is very convenient,” says Liu, adding they can take Macleod Trail to head downtown, but also have quick access to both Stoney Trail and Deerfoot Trail. “We have options.”
This connectivity will soon include people who don’t have — or choose not to use — a car.
“We have come to an agreement with the City of Calgary that transit will be coming to Legacy in 2017,” says WestCreek’s marketing manager Kalida Goldade. “It will run at peak hours, morning and afternoon, going to the Shawnessy train station.” It will connect to the commercial site in nearby Walden, as well. Goldade says this will include multiple stops “on main collector roads throughout the entire community.”
“When you live in a new community, and especially one like Legacy, you’ve moved there for the serenity and not being in the middle of downtown,” she adds. “But being able to have that transit, you’re no longer in a new community, you’re in an established community where you have those resources.”
Liu and Wu also saw Legacy as an appealing place to raise a family. They liked their home’s proximity to a playground, the overall commitment to pathways and open space, along with four future school sites — including one where construction is underway.
“We won’t have to go anywhere,” says Liu. “We can let our kids go to school within the community.”
This is something that’s appealed to a number of young families, says Goldade.
“Having four (future) schools in the community is certainly an asset, no matter what school system you’re in,” says Goldade. “Whether it’s separate or public school, you’re going to be able to have your kids go from kindergarten to at least Grade 9. And in the separate school system, to Grade 12.”
A high school through the Calgary Catholic School District is under construction and slated to open in autumn of 2018.
The well-rounded blueprint for Legacy also ties to shopping, dining and other businesses. Royop Development is seeking approval through the City of Calgary on its plan for an 800,000-square-foot commercial site in the community.
WestCreek will handle the development of a smaller commercial hub, located on 210th Avenue S.E., that’s expected to start construction within the next two years.