A NEW MOVE
It’s difficult today to get a master-planned community off the ground. One of the solutions for Monarch is launching a pocket of innovative rear-lane homes.
There is a land crunch in Ottawa that makes launching any large, master-planned community today very difficult, if not impossible, says Kevin O’Shea, vice-president of operations for the Ottawa offices of Monarch.
City planners and politicians have resisted pressure to open up the urban boundary, making it hard to find and buy large parcels of land for those master-planned communities, he says.
“The key is to have smaller satellite communities, complementing our two master communities of Stonebridge and Blackstone,” says O’Shea.
There is a 24- to 30-month supply of land and about 425 lots left in Stonebridge, Monarch’s award-winning master-community in South Barrhaven that stretches around a championship 18hole golf course rated among the best in the province.
Monarch and partner Cardel Homes introduced a second master-planned community, Blackstone, in south Kanata last spring. There are currently 100 homes sold, with room for 1,800 townhomes and singles on the 300-acre site.
O’Shea estimates Blackstone will be built out within seven years. Timing all depends on the local economy and sales.
Located along Terry Fox Drive, Blackstone doesn’t have the dramatic appeal of Stonebridge; the land is relatively flat, there isn’t a river winding along the edge and the closest golf course is a few kilometres to the north. Yet there are a growing number of shops, including a giant Walmart and Loblaw Superstore nearby.
Monarch is poised to open three new townhome models in June at Blackstone, joining a pair of single-family homes.
Last weekend, Monarch launched sales for the first phase of 25 townhomes and semi-detached homes in an innovative infill community featuring rear garages on cityowned land in Longfields. Other builders, including Cardel, Richcraft, Tartan and Campanale, will also build in the community.
“There were about 80 prospective buyers of all ages on the weekend, with four townhome sales and two semidetached home sales,” says Linda Robinson, director of sales and marketing for Monarch.
“We are working with several hot prospects,” she says, adding the reception for the designs was phenomenal.
Similar designs were introduced in Toronto about 18 months ago, garnering fast sales. “They are like a breath of fresh air for Ottawa,” adds O’Shea.
“We wanted this community to be different,” says city councillor Jan Harder, chair of the Ottawa Community Development Corporation, which owns the 123-acre site. “We want front doors and porches facing the street, not garages.”
The first phase of Monarch’s Longfields includes 17 townhomes and eight semi-detached homes, all featuring open interiors and rear detached, double-car garages. A second phase will be introduced soon, with some attached garages, says Robinson.
Longfields is being sold out of Monarch’s Stonebridge sales offices on Kilbirnie Drive until June, when the builder expects to open a sales centre in Longfields.