MEET EDMONTON’S BEST COMMUNITIES
Village at Griesbach and Woodhaven Edgemont shine at Chbaawards of Excellence
They’re totally different communities but they have one thing in common: being honoured as two of the best places to live in Edmonton.
Both the Village at Griesbach and Woodhaven Edgemont won big at the recent 2020 edition of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association-edmonton Region Awards of Excellence.
Griesbach, from developer Canada Lands Co., was named Best Community, while Woodhaven Edgemont, from the Rohit Group of Companies, took the Best New Community award.
“I think this is the seventh time that we’ve won the award,” said Marvin Neumann,
Canada Lands’ senior director of real estate. “Last year we won and then again this year for best community, so we’re pretty happy about that.”
Griesbach also snagged the award for Best Show Home Parade, marking the fourth time Griesbach has won in that category.
“Our location is fantastic,” said Neumann, when asked why Griesbach has resonated so well with homebuyers and the overall builder community.
“We’re 10 to 15 minutes from downtown. To have a piece of land that close to a downtown in a major North American city is unheard of. To purchase a brand new home in a brand new community, that is very important (to people).”
Griesbach, located on the former Canadian Forces Base Edmonton — also known as Griesbach Barracks — includes a series of themed public spaces, statues, monuments, educational displays and titled parks in recognition of Canada’s military heritage and the contribution to global conflict resolution. Sitting on 620 acres, it will one day be home to some 13,000 residents. At this point, there is still room for future growth as just under 40 per cent of the area remains to be developed.
“We’re providing a community that is a little bit different than what is out in the suburbs,” said Neumann. “We’re being rewarded with these awards for doing this neat stuff.”
Builders in Griesbach include Carrington Communities, Concept Homes, Coventry Homes, Homes by Avi, Impact Homes and Pacesetter Homes.
While Neumann was watching the May 21 streaming event at home — wearing a bow tie and a T-shirt — Rohit staff were also watching, with bated breath.
Rohit had three entries for best new community with Arbours of Keswick, Greenwood at Orchards and Woodhaven Edgemont snapping up three of those five finalist slots.
“I certainly was shocked, to be honest,” said Leanne Ure, project manager for Rohit Land Development, who has worked on both Woodhaven and Greenwood. She thought Arbours might take it but noted that Woodhaven has merits that would catch people’s and the judges’ attention.
Woodhaven is nestled in nature and surrounded by a ravine, and is proving to be immensely popular with buyers. Its grand opening event drew so much interest last September that Rohit staff found themselves unexpectedly pressed into traffic control duties to handle the large amount of vehicles and crowds.
“Momentum was strong coming out of our grand opening and we’ve seen that momentum continue,” said Ure, adding there is solid interest in the ravine lots and lots that back off walking paths. “It is one of the last communities in west Edmonton to have ravine lots by the Wedgewood Creek ravine. It’s spectacular. It’s secluded. It’s quiet. We’ve basically enhanced the nature around it.”
Builders in Woodhaven include Blackstone Homes, Dolce Vita Homes, Park Royal Homes and Rohit Communities.
As for the virtual version of the awards, which replaced the March in-person edition that was cancelled due to COVID -19, Ure said it was a unique experience.
“It was very different to clink glasses not with my co-workers but with myself, which is very hard to do,” said Ure, who watched by herself at home instead of, as in other years, with other Rohit team members and industry colleagues. “It was very surreal to have won something so spectacular and not be sharing it with anybody (in the moment).”
Rohit won a total of seven awards at the event, including awards in the advertising and sales categories.