Summerwood home ‘simple yet elegant’
For Lynard Higoy and Madeleine Mae Dimapilis, the plan for 2020 was to buy a house and get married, in that order. The pandemic took their wedding plans and threw them out the window but with real estate deemed an essential service, their new home purchase didn’t suffer the same fate.
At the end of May, the couple took possession of their new two-storey home in Sherwood Park’s Summerwood neighbourhood by Qualico Communities.
Their 1,377-square-foot laned home is a quick possession model by Pacesetter Homes and was brought to their attention by a realtor while hunting for a new home in the Edmonton area.
“The realtor introduced us to Alexis Cavanagh at Pacesetter. That’s how we found our house — the Maverick. It’s beautiful — we fell in love with it,” Higoy says.
The Maverick is a highly efficient three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom plan with basement laundry, a front porch and room in the backyard for a garage. With premium siding in a striking shade of blue, the quick possession home has an open concept main floor, white countertops and detailing and is full of natural light.
“Simple yet elegant,” Dimapilis says.
With a starting price of $314,760, GST included, the Maverick and its location on a zero lot is an affordable starter home for a very busy couple. Higoy is a community respiratory therapist working in Vegreville, and Dimapilis is employed by a manufacturing company on the city’s west side. They’re both from the Philippines but met while living in Manitoba.
When Dimapilis moved to Edmonton four years ago, Higoy wasn’t far behind.
“We chose Sherwood Park because it’s our halfway point,” says Higoy.
The community also feels like the right place to raise a family.
“We checked out Summerwood and did some research. It’s close to a hospital, grocery stores and has parks with trails,” he says.
Cavanagh put the couple in touch with mortgage lenders.
“They chose such an awesome time to buy a home when pricing is amazing and rates are unbelievably low,” she says. “I love working with buyers like Lynard and Mae because of the excitement that comes with buying your first home.”
Building on a zero lot helps with the affordability factor in Summerwood, the first community in Sherwood Park to offer the narrower lots.
“We worked with Strathcona County to get approval. We paved the way but there will be more to come,” Qualico sales and marketing manager Kirsten Warwick says.
Rohit Communities and Jayman Built are also active in Summerwood with duplexes and front-drive models. Pacesetter is building townhomes in addition to single-family laned product.
Warwick says there are 300 to 400 lots remaining in the community, which represent another three or four years to build out.
One of the first amenities to be constructed when the community was founded in 2003 was a stormwater pond, incorporated into the channel of a natural creek that runs through the land on the northeast corner of Sherwood Park. Qualico also preserved a native tree stand, carving pathways through the wooded area that residents use and enjoy.