TEACHER FINDS FIT OUTSIDE BIG CITY
Vantage Fireside in Cochrane offers nice mix of nature and amenities
For an active person like Carly Keuben, life in Cochrane is a natural fit.
On weekends, the 25-year-old can regularly be found in the Rocky Mountains. She hikes and canoes in warmer weather, and skis and goes snowshoeing in the winter.
Keuben also enjoys a peaceful afternoon with a line in the Bow River. She’s reeled in white fish, and both brown and rainbow trout.
These activities are easily reached from Cochrane, where she bought a new townhome at Vantage Fireside by Calbridge Homes.
When Keuben decided she was ready to buy a place of her own, the born and raised Calgarian looked at options within the city first.
But she was attracted to the value in Cochrane — both the affordability of the homes and the in-town and outdoor amenities nearby.
“Pretty much everything you could possibly need is in Cochrane, which is great,” says Keuben, adding her earlier memories of the town are of going with family for ice cream.
Shopping and dining options are plentiful.
“If you have family coming into town and want to take them out for dinner, there are some really nice restaurants in Cochrane,” Keuben says.
Along with the convenient distance to rivers and mountains, Keuben is also a disc golf buff, and is pleased to see the town open a new course near its scenic Riverfront Park.
The pace of Cochrane was appealing. Taking her post-second- ary education in the small southern Alberta city of Lethbridge, Keuben appreciates what she calls Cochrane’s “small-town feeling.”
Vantage Fireside is part of the community of Fireside, accessed off Cowboy Trail and masterplanned by La Vita Land. A school for kindergarten to Grade 8 opened in the community recently.
While Reuben works in Calgary, the daily commute is no problem.
She’s a teacher at a school in Cougar Ridge, on the southwest end of Calgary.
“It’s like a 25-minute drive to work,” she says. “I never have traffic. I think I have maybe two traffic lights, take Old Coach Banff Road all the way in and it’s been great.”
Once Vantage Fireside is built out, it will have 200 units. It’s presently 75 per cent sold in its first and second phases, with the remaining lots due to be released later this year.
Its home selection includes two-storey floor plans from the low $200,000s, ground-level bungalows from the $290,000s, and three-storey floor plans from the $320,000s. In all cases, the price excludes GST.
Based on the floor plan and model type, garages for homes at Vantage come in a rear double attached or double tandem format. Some floor plans have a private, covered parking spot just outside their front door.
The development has five show homes open: its Galwey bungalow, two-storey Chester, three-storey Columbia, and two examples of its three-storey Rundle.
“Vantage Fireside offers tremendous versatility and choice to our customers,” says Tony Robinson, Calbridge’s senior vice-president.
“With flexible and varied floor plans, Vantage Fireside offers an option to fit every lifestyle,” he says. “We cater to first-time homebuyers, but also those looking to down-size and live a more low-maintenance lifestyle. Our discerning customers also appreciate the value and affordability of Vantage Fireside. People can own a quality and stylish townhome and be confident the value is unmatched elsewhere in Cochrane.”
Keuben bought and has moved into her townhome, which is the 1,172-square-foot Chester model.
She’s a fan of its two balconies, one off the dining area on the main level, the other off the second level master bedroom. From her second floor perch, she says there are “beautiful views” of the preserved wetland in nearby Bulrush Park.
Her home has two bedrooms. For Keuben, the second bedroom doubles as a guest bedroom and home office. She says it easily fits a queen-sized bed, desk and bookcase.
Another one of Keuben’s hobbies is cooking. She loves whipping up everything from pasta dishes to salad rolls. So when she made decisions around her new home, she kept a close eye on the kitchen.
“There’s enough space for everything,” says Keuben, singling out its abundance of cabinets.
Among its features, she was especially fond of the kitchen’s softclose doors and drawers. Keuben also likes its open-concept design, allowing her to stay connected to people in the dining area and great room.
“I can be cooking and still visit with my family and friends,” she says.