PONDS, PATHWAYS A DRAW
King’s Heights in southeast Airdrie offers outdoor appeal and convenient connections
While Laura Burt and Michal Piszko initially thought they were two to three years away from being able to afford a home, they kept an eye out for interesting listings on the resale market.
The couple spotted a well-priced 100-year-old home in a rural town north of Calgary that inspired them to get pre-approved for a mortgage. They soon realized it was a fixer-upper, and the expenses needed to get the home to where they wanted it to be didn’t make financial sense.
But there was a bright side.
“We were surprised by what we could actually afford,” says Burt. “Then it became, ‘well, maybe we should keep looking.’ ”
That’s how Burt and Piszko, who have been renting a basement suite in Taradale for the past three years, found a new duplex in King’s Heights. The community is located on the southeast end of Airdrie and offers semi-detached homes by both Homes by Avi and Jayman Built.
For the couple, the community was a draw. They’re both from Ontario, where access to the lakes is easy, so reconnecting with water was an interest. Piszko is from Guelph and Burt is from Ajax, which is about a 15-minute drive to Lake Ontario.
“One of the things that we definitely miss is the availability and access to bodies of water,” says Burt, adding King’s Heights’ ponds helped make the Airdrie community a match.
“I had done some biking through the King’s Heights area with a school group,” says Burt, who teaches Grade 8 at a school in Airdrie. “So I knew there were big ponds and that there were a lot of path systems throughout that community. That attracted us to it.”
King’s Heights has two water features — a long pond on the north side of the community with fountains and a bridge feature, and a smaller one on the south end that was completed last year.
And the connection to Calgary and other amenities near but outside of Airdrie are easily accessed from King’s Heights.
“You don’t have to go through the main roads in Airdrie to get to Stoney Trail or down into Cross Iron Mills and that area, you can take back roads, so that was appealing,” says Burt. “Being on the outer edge was appealing to us for that reason.”
The small city north of Calgary was itself also an attractive landing spot for the couple. With Burt’s job already there, the move shortens her commute. And Piszko’s an electrician who travels for work, making Airdrie’s proximity to Calgary International Airport a welcome convenience.
In King’s Heights — which also offers single-family homes — prices on semi-detached homes start from the mid-$300,000s. Homes by Avi offers models with a rear detached garage, and Jayman’s have a front-attached garage.
Jayman has two show homes that have been open for nearly a year. The builder is showcasing its 1,611-square-foot Motiv and 1,805-square-foot Vivid models.
Homes by Avi has four show homes now under construction that are slated to open around March 2018.
Piszko and Burt picked Homes by Avi’s Lance floor plan, a duplex that measures 1,196 square feet. There’s has a double car rear-detached garage. They’ll take possession this spring.
There’s been growing interest in duplexes, says Catharina Mendonca, marketing manager at Melcor Developments, the developer behind King’s Heights.
“Today, with there being a push for higher densities in most new communities, we are seeing smaller and smaller product come into the market,” says Mendonca. “And while the condos and townhomes are a clear choice for many because of their affordability and maintenance-free living, we are seeing a steady stream of prospective buyers who look to the duplex home as the best of both worlds.”
“They are buying a home that is perhaps less work than a larger single family home but still affords them private parking, and a backyard for pets and children without the condo fees,” she adds.
That’s what Piszko and Burt were thinking.
“We wanted to be able to have a dog and not have restrictions around the size of dog or put it on a leash and walk it whenever it needs to go outside,” says Burt, adding the yard that comes with a duplex was key.
Its main floor has a large frontfacing great room, central dining area, and L-shaped kitchen along the back.
“We like that it was open-concept so we could entertain in the kitchen and have people in the living room and not have those spaces be separate,” Burt says.
With large front-facing win-
dows, sunshine was also a factor.
“The plan we chose, there’s going to be a lot of natural light into the house and that’s a nice thing to have after we’ve been living in a basement apartment for the last three years.”
It’s formatted with two master bedrooms. With relatives in Ontario, this is bound to come in handy, says Burt. “If we have family fly in, then they can have their own private space, as well,” she adds.