MODERN LIFE IN SHAWNEE
Ivey Court by Cardel Homes
A low maintenance yard, greater emphasis on the front exterior, and the benefit of an attached garage.
These are among the factors attracting house hunters to courtyard single-family homes.
Now Cardel Homes has its first full-scale example of what it can offer in this segment displayed in the southwest community of Shawnee Park.
The builder is presenting its Ivey Court model as a show home on Shawnee Boulevard.
“Because the garage is attached at the back of the home, it creates privacy, and it does lower the maintenance just by the way the outdoor living space is set up,” says Mike Selinger, regional president of Cardel Homes, adding with the position of the garage, there’s plenty of curb appeal.
“You’ll see that on the Ivey Court,” he adds. “And the good thing in Shawnee Park is that the lots are wider, 40- and 42-foot wide lots, so there’s a lot more of an opportunity for us to build a true character architectural style.”
The Ivey Court is 2,668 square feet, has three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. This is one of the builder’s three courtyard floor plans in the community, all of which start in the $750,000s, in the community’s current release of lots.
The courtyard homes, which have a rear attached garage, sit on a boulevard and back on to a private road, “so everything is clean and paved,” Selinger says.
“You get the street for your garage, you get the attached garage, the curb appeal, the unique outdoor living space,” he adds. “It’s like a true inner-city character home. It’s the best of both worlds.”
Cardel previously sold courtyard homes in the community of Quarry Park with a “very successful,” response, says Selinger.
“The outdoor living space is just so unique and when you integrate that into the house design, it’s just a great house for entertaining,” he adds. “The outdoor space reads with the indoor space and it’s pretty attractive.”
The home sites earmarked for courtyard models have some flexibility for purchasers to pick a different orientation.
“If you want just a traditional backyard, and detach the garage, you can do that, as well, on these lots,” Selinger says.
In a separate phase of the community, where single-family homes on 32-foot wide lots are selling from the low $600,000s, Cardel has also expanded its lineup of models — adding three new options to the existing two. They start at 1,800 square feet. Homes on this end of the community back on to an attractive landscape buffer. “We’re noticing that there are trends towards ‘I don’t need to build a super big house anymore,’ ” says Selinger. “I want a really good home, 1,800 to 2,200 square feet that’s got a modern floor plan and today’s really good materials in it.
“It’s for that market segment that wants to keep the price in the low $600,000s, but get into the established neighbourhood of Shawnee Park, and build a home like this on an attractive street.”