STARS Lottery vital to rescue service’s operations
If you need another reason to get a ticket in the latest STARS Lottery, there’s a great one on Veterans Way
A two-storey contemporary home with classic touches awaits its owner.
One of three dream home grand prizes in the 25th anniversary edition of the STARS Lottery, which benefits the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service, this tempting abode sits on a corner lot in north Edmonton’s master-planned community of the Village at Griesbach.
At 2,884 square feet, the Carlisle model from Concept Homes is a spacious three-bedroom, twoand-a-half bathroom house that includes edgy accents to give the home hints of a hip, urban feel. The house — which someone will take possession of on June 30 — is a labour of love that took just under nine months to complete once planning and construction are taken into account.
“It’s the 10th house we’ve done for STARS,” Concept Homes president Rick Hinteregger said. “Just being able to a part of this (lottery) and to be able to help for 10 years is remarkable, let alone having STARS choose us.”
For Concept’s 10th anniversary with STARS, Hinteregger and his brother Dave — Concept Homes’ construction manager — put together a luxury house that draws you in with warm grey tones and touches of cream, silver and gold. It’s a lottery house that has eyecatching elements, yet one that is also comfortable and welcoming.
The Hintereggers, who have received positive feedback on their previous STARS Lottery homes, said that over the years homebuyers have asked them to incorporate designs, styles, colours and flooring choices from previous versions. That trend should continue with their latest lottery home.
An extensive amount of windows play a large role throughout both floors, bringing in ample sunlight and showcasing the lake view. The Carlisle’s foyer features an 18-foot vaulted ceiling. Adjacent to the foyer is a den with a custom ceiling feature with four boxed art insets that tie into the room’s interior design finishes.
The main floor’s open-concept great room, dining and kitchen spaces are highlighted by two decorative, yet structurally functional, lighted pillars. While a walk-through pantry connects the kitchen to the mud room, the main floor half-bath lures you in with its graphic-patterned floor tiles.
Upstairs, the master bedroom includes access to a covered second-floor balcony. A curved wall adds a design punch to the room, but investigate further and you’ll see that on the other side of the curve is a spacious, stunning circular shower with a domed ceiling that includes colour-changing LEDs and artwork by local artist Kevin Wilson.
Two more bedrooms, an additional bathroom, an upstairs laundry room and a bonus entertainment space with a coffered ceiling round out the upper level. But it’s the finishing touches that make a difference. Light fixtures in the two smaller bedrooms are smartly framed by wire mesh boxes, while industrial-looking lighting for the vanity works well in the master ensuite.
Downstairs, chairs in a metallic-like fabric add a decorative flair to the great room, while the backs of the dining room chairs tie in seamlessly by matching the kitchen backsplash.
“We try to think outside the box and bring in different things and try to make them special and unique,” said interior designer Jacquie Cormier, owner of BeauIdeal Interior Design, who was putting the finishing touches in place earlier this week.
For the 2018 edition, the STARS Lottery grand prizes have changed slightly. As opposed to four dream homes, there are only three, as a Red Deer-based lottery home has been dropped this time around. In its place is a $500,000 cash prize.
As for the other grand prize homes, The Winston, by Calgary’s Trico Homes, is a $948,000 home made to entertain, while the Jenna Michele — built by Van Arbor in Lethbridge and valued at $892,500 — celebrates turn-of-the-century Craftsman design while embracing modern lifestyles.
But to have a chance to win any of the three grand prize houses, you need a STARS Lottery ticket. That ticket, said Mike Lamacchia, vicepresident of operations for STARS in Alberta and Saskatchewan, is a crucial component to keeping STARS in the air.
“The STARS Lottery is our single largest fundraising initiative,” Lamacchia said. “It raises over $10 million, which funds the operation of one of our bases for an entire year.”
STARS flies five rescue missions a day on average from its three Alberta bases — located in Edmonton, Calgary and Grande Prairie — carrying critically ill or injured patients to safety.
“People don’t plan to have the worst day of their life. Unfortunately, it just happens,” Lamacchia said. “When someone buys a lottery ticket, the prize is great but the cause is greater.”