FINDING A FIT IN GLENMORE
Glenpark Row the perfect pick for those looking for quality and value in Kelowna
When Kylagh and Adam Cornford were married in 2013, the young couple’s prospects of finding an affordable home in Metro Vancouver appeared pretty dim.
“We were looking at buying a place in Maple Ridge at the time, but in the end, it just wasn’t the right situation or the right time for us,” said Kylagh, now 27.
“And the commute was really far out for us, with my husband working in North Vancouver, an hour away.”
Fast forward to 2017, and the outlook for buying a home looked even dimmer.
That prompted the two to pull up stakes and move to the Okanagan. Kylagh’s family lives in Vernon and Adam’s mother is in Kelowna.
What a difference a year can make. Today, they are the proud owners of a soon-to-be-built townhome with three bedrooms and a den, one of 52 that form the Glenpark Row development in Glenmore, a neighbourhood in northeast Kelowna.
“My husband is just seven minutes from his job working at a museum,” Kylagh boasts.
“He now says he wouldn’t work any more than 20 minutes from where he lives.”
Meanwhile, she is about the same distance from her job as a massage therapist, where, just three weeks after moving from Vancouver, she had a full schedule of clients.
Don Warkentin, founder and partner of Fortune Marketing, which is selling Glenpark Row, says the development offers unbeatable value for young couples like Kylagh and Adam.
“This is probably the best value in townhomes in Kelowna. With double side-by-side garages and a lower level flex room that can be made into a bedroom, all of these can technically be described as a four-bedroom home.
For a starting price of $499,900, to have this many bedrooms with 2.5 baths and high-end finishing, it is almost unheard of.
“So for a starting price of $499,900, to have this many bedrooms with 2.5 baths and high-end finishing, it is almost unheard of.”
Glenpark Row, being built on land formerly occupied by singlefamily homes, will be arranged in eight buildings with four, five or seven homes to a building, he said.
In one direction, homeowners have views of Dilworth Mountain; in the other, the Wilden green area.
The homes are built in a rusticurban style with peaked roofs, Hardie panel and plank siding in vertical and horizontal patterns. Expansive windows throughout the homes allow plenty of natural light to enter.
Each home has a flex room with a pony wall off the garage that can be converted into a bedroom or home office.
Across the street is the newly developing city of Kelowna recreation park, where the long range plan calls for soccer and baseball fields, with swimming pool and ice rinks for hockey and curling to follow, he said.
The Cornfords actually started looking at single-family homes when they first arrived in Kelowna last summer, says Kylagh, “but a lot of the houses are older and do have issues or they are farther out.”
Instead, they went for a drive and discovered a presentation display for Glenpark Row.
“Moving to North Glenmore is so close; there is a grocery store nearby, and it’s easy to get to Vernon,” Kylagh said.
Glenpark shopping centre is just over a kilometre away, while the big-box stores like Costco, Home Depot and Walmart are a short drive.
Kylagh said she enjoys the openconcept kitchen and living areas and, in particular, the double sideby-side space for cars.
The kitchens feature Whirlpool stainless steel appliances, including a front-control gas range, a french door fridge with water dispenser, stainless steel dishwasher and a Broan under-cabinet hood fan. A Panasonic microwave completes the package.
Cabinetry includes a built-in wine rack or the option of upgrading to a 38-bottle Danby wine fridge.
Flooring is textured, brushedfinish wood grain laminate on the lower and main levels and stain-resistant carpeting with soft cushion underlay on the top level, which includes a Whirlpool Energy Star washer and dryer.
Bathrooms have a floating vanity with undermount sinks by Kohler with chrome Moen singlelever faucet. Bathroom flooring is marble porcelain tiles that, with an upgrade, can be heated.
With no on-site common amenity, strata fees are kept low, ranging from $150 to $162 a month, Warkentin said.
Glenpark is also conveniently located near schools and daycare facilities and is just 10 minutes from both downtown Kelowna and the Airport/University hub.