Making a Pointe
Minto launches Quinn’s Pointe in Barrhaven
Minto may be selling off the last of its lots at Chapman Mills after a 15-year run there, but the company is not exactly calling it quits in Barrhaven.
Today it launches Quinn’s Pointe, a master-planned community that will eventually see 2,000 homes built on 250 acres off Greenbank Road, not far from Chapman Mills. With more than 1,700 units on the way in the east end at its Enclave at Trailsedge and Avalon Encore projects and another 1,300 homes in the works for west-end Arcadia, Quinn’s Pointe will rebalance Minto’s portfolio of active developments across the city.
“Barrhaven is definitely the strongest market in the city right now. People see the value (there),” says Minto senior vice-president Brent Strachan.
The first phase of Quinn’s Pointe will add 477 two-storey singles, bungalows and towns to the southend community.
The new development features the 20 new designs Minto introduced last year at Trailsedge, Arcadia Phase 2 and Avalon Encore as well as the popular Avenue backto-back towns also launched last year. Those designs emphasize light, functionality and the optimal use of space.
Quinn’s Pointe also sees the debut of three new single-family designs as well as the new Executive Townhomes. All will be added to the selection at Trailsedge, Avalon Encore and Arcadia.
The new single designs, all with traditionally themed elevations and four bedrooms, were born of customer feedback at existing sites.
The 2,339-square-foot Georgian, for example, came from buyer demand for a dining room and living room plus a great room on the main floor. The home also features a breakfast bar. Situated on a 43foot lot, it starts at $434,900.
The more modest Jefferson Corner is 1,744 square feet and starts at $379,900. It’s on a 30-foot lot, but because it’s a corner location, the home has plenty of windows plus a two-car garage on the side.
The Okanagan, $549,900 and up, is 3,290 square feet on a 43-foot lot. It boasts a main-floor den, 3 ½ baths and an optional fifth bedroom.
“For larger families or with an in-law living with them, this provides that extra bedroom,” says Strachan.
It was inspired by buyer requests for a larger home, again with dining, living and family rooms and a den on the main floor. It also has a “servery,” a short hall between the kitchen and dining room with room for a counter and sink, wine fridge or storage space for fine dinnerware. The servery adjoins a walk-in pantry.
Both the Okanagan and Georgian boast a mud room off the garage where grade permits, a practical design element Minto introduced with its new lineup last year.
The homes at Quinn’s Pointe all give buyers the choice of three elevations for every floor plan and multiple exterior colours. “It provides variety for people who have different tastes and gives variation along streetscapes,” says Strachan.
The flex kitchens Minto began offering with last spring’s new designs have also struck a chord. Options such as multiple or differently configured islands and varied sink locations are on buyers’ want lists, for example. Walk-in closets are popular at Minto’s other new sites so the company has included them in not just the master but in other bedrooms in the new Georgian and Okanagan models.
The singles at Quinn’s Pointe and elsewhere have fully insulated “rec room-ready” basements. Energyefficient tankless hot-water heaters and triple-pane windows are also standard.
“Given the ceiling heights and the amount of glazing, we felt triple-glaze windows provide the optimal efficiency,” says Strachan.
Minto has gone with EnerGuide ratings on its new lineup. The rating on a scale of 0 to 100 provides a standard measure of a home’s energy performance, which can be compared to other homes. It includes a blower door test to identify potential energy loss through leakage. Compared with building just to Energy Star standards, EnerGuide “is more validation for the homeowner because each house is tested on how it performs,” says Strachan.
The EnerGuide rating will also apply to the five new executive towns being launched at Quinn’s Pointe. They range from the threebedroom, 1,600-square-foot Carmel starting at $279,900 to the four-bedroom, 2,091-square-foot Venice Corner from $334,900.
The latter includes a den and optional fifth bedroom in the basement. All the executive towns have a finished family room in the basement. The executive towns also feature nine-foot ceilings on the main floor and open-concept main living areas for light and spaciousness.
Outside, buyers have the choice of either traditional or contemporary elevations.
“We’re offering affordability but without compromising layout or space,” says Strachan. “We’ve spent a lot of time on these designs, leveraging off our experience in towns.”
Minto is also offering its backto-back Avenue townhome line at Quinn’s Pointe. They start at 1,154 square feet for $245,900.
Quinn’s Pointe, named for the Irish family who settled in the area in the 1800s, will include four acres of centrally located parkland in Phase 1, a pond and shorter streets for quieter, more private living.