TREES, PATHWAYS — AND PONDS WITH VISITING MOOSE
Five Lakes at Rock Lake Estates community offers upscale homes close to nature
The Szczepaniak family went from a high-density neighbourhood to a community that they say has sights and sounds that make it feel like it’s not even part of the city.
“It seems like you’re on an acreage but you’re in town,” says Nick Szczepaniak. “It’s beautiful.”
He and his wife Lynn, who have daughters aged one and four years old, moved to Five Lakes at Rock Lake Estates. The northwest Calgary community — noted for striking natural beauty — is by Decker Management Ltd., and accessed off of Country Hills Boulevard and 12 Mile Coulee Road.
They bought an upscale home by Lupi Luxury Homes that backs on to a pond.
When they decided it was time for a step-up from their 2,000 square-foot home, the family felt it was important to stay on the northwest end of the city — where many of their friends and family were based.
Rock Lake Estates was a blend of many of the things they looked for in a place to put down roots, but the location’s sight lines cinched it.
“We were like ‘look at all of the trees, look at these ponds, look at these pathways, this is amazing, this is beautiful,’ ” says Nick, who works in the oil and gas industry.
In their new community, they ’re more likely to hear birds chirping during the day, and at night, it’s not unusual to hear croaking frogs, he adds.
“People were telling us when we were building that you’re going to see moose and deer in the winter, and we have,” says Nick, of their lot with a southwest exposure.
“On the pond behind us we saw a couple of moose this winter. It’s pretty amazing.”
As the name suggests, there are five naturally occurring lakes within its outline plan boundary, and about 80 per cent of homes back on to community wetlands.
Nick and Lynn also looked at future needs, with an eye on proximity
to schools. They were pleased to see established elementary and junior high schools in the neighbouring communities of Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak.
Another major amenity was added to the nearby landscape earlier in 2018. In January, Shane Homes YMCA at Rocky Ridge — the largest YMCA in the world — opened its doors.
Among its features are a wave pool with a water slide, eight-lane, 25-metre pool, strength and conditioning centre, running track, studio for fitness classes, climbing wall, and two rinks, one that’s NHL-sized and another for leisure purposes.
Catherine Beaudin, Decker’s director of operations for Alberta, says the facility has been another boost for residents of the area, including Rock Lake.
“It’s phenomenal,” she says. “You can’t go wrong.
“We have a lot of families in Rock Lake and it’s not even a 10-minute walk or a two-minute drive. It’s been a huge selling feature.”
Decker recently released 28 lots in Phase 6 of Five Lakes at Rock Lake Estates. In it, homes by New West Custom Homes start from the $800,000s, and homes by Lupi Luxury Homes, Duri Homes, and Crystal Creek Homes start from the $900,000s.
A new show home parade will be constructed to represent this new stretch of the community, but existing show homes in the community — by Crystal Creek, Lupi and New West — will remain open until that time. People interested in buying with Duri can contact the builder directly.
Included in the new release are what the developer calls “island lots.” There are 14 of them, all belonging to New West. They allow the buyer to have a secondary suite in the house or over the garage.
“You can rent it or have a studio, craft room, nanny room, guest house, you can work from home,” says Beaudin, adding, one buyer, whose daughter is a dancer, has expressed interest in turning the space into a dance studio.
The Szczepaniak family loved Lupi’s Amalfi floor plan, which is displayed as a show home in the community — but made a few custom revisions, including 10-foot ceilings on the main level.
For its design, they went with a charming provincial farmhouse theme.
Their home is 2,475 square feet and boasts an abundance of large, rear-facing windows that helps the main level beam, Nick says.
It also capitalizes on the view of the backyard, “the pond and the trees, we wanted to expand upon that,” he adds.
They also transitioned from darker tones in their previous home to white finishes here.
Nick says the aim was to create a welcoming gathering space for the family.