A HOME FOR THEIR TOMORROWS
Teachers Michael and Rachelle Smith bought their new home in Cranston’s Riverstone two weekends before their wedding this summer. They attacked their yearlong home search and resulting purchase using many of the organizational skills required for their profession.
“As a teacher, you always have to be about five steps ahead of yourself,” Michael says.
After living in a one-bedroom condo downtown, the young couple purchased the 2,139-square-foot Harrington model by Trico Homes in Phase 72 of the southeast community.
With three bedrooms and a bonus room upstairs, plus 2.5 bathrooms and additional basement development, the couple did their homework to ensure the spacious home will meet all their needs — today and well into the future.
That starts with plans for a family.
“We want the house to accommodate at least two children. We don’t want to be forced out of the house because we only had one other bedroom. If we had a third, we could make it work with the space we have. We don’t want to outgrow our house, at least in the early years,” Rachelle says.
They chose the plan because of the open concept main floor with functional areas like a “pocket office.”
“On our wish list was a main floor den. This plan met us in the middle, allowing us to stay within budget and still have a designated work space,” Rachelle says.
With the Harrington priced from $555,000, the Smiths spent a few extra dollars on top of that to finish the basement.
“If Trico does it, the basements will be dug deeper, so the ceilings are higher. Everything is covered under warranty and the cost is covered in the mortgage, too,” Michael says.
The downstairs development includes a “guest wing ” to accommodate family visiting from Rachelle’s hometown of Ottawa.
“There’s a bedroom, full bathroom with walk-in closet and linen closet.
“As our family grows, we’ll always have a place for guests, so they can come more frequently and stay longer,” she says.
Michael says he thinks they reviewed 10 different builders and toured a lot of show homes.
“What really struck us about Trico and this model was that we walked in and felt that the house made functional sense. Some homes had things that were cool, but we didn’t get how we would use them on an everyday basis. This house makes complete sense,” he says.
Growing up on the west side of Calgary, Michael admits he was unfamiliar with the southeast until a colleague suggested he and Rachelle check out Cranston’s Riverstone development.
“When you drive down the hill into Riverstone, the view is breathtaking,” he says. “With the river there, it felt like the least suburby-suburb you could get.”
The couple acknowledges they’ll have a longer commute to their respective schools, which are closer to the city core, but Michael is optimistic they’ll get placements closer to Riverstone later in their careers.
“It was important to find a spot for our future family, close to nature and in a good community. We thought we could deal with a commute for a bit,” he says.
Trico’s area sales manager in Cranston’s Riverstone, Carmen De Luca, reports that the front garage Harrington is her No. 1 seller.
“We released it last year and it sold even before we had the show home built,” she says. “That’s when I knew it was going to be a hot model.”
De Luca says it’s the kitchen that makes the home.
“People just love it. The main floor is open concept and the kitchen is quite stunning. There are a lot of cabinets and an eight-foot island — wonderful for entertaining,” she says.
The front garage show home opened in June on an economical zero lot. However, the Harrington can also be built on traditional 34foot and 36-foot lots in two of Riverstone’s current phases, with a quick possession currently available.
De Luca says Riverstone is a smaller, estate community with no commercial areas. However, retail shops and restaurants are minutes away up the hill in Cranston, with more shopping and the South Health Campus Hospital just across Deerfoot Trail in Seton.
That includes public and separate schools and a new high school, also in Seton.
The Smiths say their migration to the suburbs should happen in February, when they ’ll become instant homebodies.
“I think all the activities we do now will come back to the home. Like, living in such a small space now, we go out a lot more. Rather than going out for dinner on a Friday night, we’ll enjoy our comfortable living space. We’ll be able to bring friends over. I mean, right now we have a computer on our dining table,” Rachelle says with a smile.