BUILDING A LEGACY
Community of the year
A community featuring more than 121 hectares of protected environmental reserve and a wide assortment of housing options has added to its legacy with a major award.
Legacy by WestCreek Developments has been named Community of the Year-City of Calgary. It earned the title at the 2015 Canadian Home Builders’ Association-Urban Development Institute Calgary Region Association SAM (Sales and Marketing) Awards, which were handed out during a gala event on April 16.
“We’re ecstatic,” says development manager Jared Goldade. “We’re extremely happy with what Legacy has become and what it continues to become. And we’re ecstatic that the industry has recognized that with the SAM award for community of the year.”
Planning for Legacy, a community at the southern end of Calgary, started in 2001 and sales opened in 2013. “A lot of minds and great thinkers in community design have been involved,” Goldade says. “I think what we’re seeing today is a history of thought put into a community.”
Goldade also points to what he calls the “little” but important things in Legacy and how they’ve factored in on its larger success.
“That starts with the entry features, the sense of arrival into the community,” Goldade says. “As you come down the main road, the framing of wrought-iron fencing. It’s the clock tower in the community. It’s the continuation into the storm ponds, the Christmas lights that we put up during the holidays.
“It’s the little things where we are committed to the community that people start to see — this is starting to stand out. This is something different.”
The builder group is a veteran lineup of Albi Homes, Calbridge Homes, Morrison Homes, Stepper Homes, Sterling Homes, Trico Homes, WestCreek Homes, Creations by Shane Homes, Carlisle Group, Brad Remington Homes and Aldebaran Homes.
Legacy has estate, move-up and laned single-family homes, duplexes, townhomes and condos. That wide spectrum of housing options was important, says Goldade. “A community is not one socio-economic background. A community is a wide variety of incomes, jobs and families,” he adds.
Legacy’s win follows three straight years where the title went to Mahogany, which was runnerup this year. Mahogany is a lake community in southeast Calgary by Hopewell Residential.
Evanston, Riverstone of Cranston and Redstone were all finalists for the top community award. Redstone is in the northeast and Evanston in the northwest side. Both are master-planned by Qualico Communities. Riverstone of Cranston is a southeast community by Brookfield Residential.
Mahogany, a new community in the city’s Symons Valley corridor and another by the Bow River in Cochrane also picked up land development category awards at this year’s SAMs. Here’s a look at the other winners.
NEW COMMUNITY OF THE YEAR
Brookfield Residential’s Symons Gate is the city’s top rookie community. The northwest community opened sales with move-up homes by a builder group of Morrison Homes, Jayman Built and Brookfield last year. Albi joined the lineup earlier in 2016.
“Symons Gate is our 61st community in Calgary. We’ve been building in this great city for the last 58 years and are proud to be a part of making what many Calgarians call ‘the best places to call home,’ ” says Trent Edwards, CEO of Brookfield Residential, Alberta. “Everyone wants a place where they feel at home and that they belong. These awards confirm that we are on the right track and contributing to making Calgary a world-class city.”
Runner-up in the category was Southwinds, which is a community on the south end of Airdrie by Mattamy Homes.
COMMUNITY OF THE YEARCALGARY REGION
Riversong was named the top community outside Calgary limits. Master-planned by Tamani Communities, Riversong is accessed off Cowboy Trail in Cochrane and features Jayman Built, Trico Homes, Douglas Homes and Jayman Modus as its builders.
“For where our community is located, it’s the biggest award that we could win and we’re excited,” says Cam Hart, vice-president at Tamani. “To be put in a pool of contenders of that high quality and for us to come out as the winner, it’s quite exciting for us.”
A number of key elements factored in on Riverong’s win, including location, Hart says. “It’s so unique right next to the Bow River and with a large forested escarpment also on the property,” he says “The architecture and what our builders have pulled off in terms of the housing design, as well.”
There were four finalists in the category including The Willows and Fireside, which are both by La Vita Land and also in Cochrane. Ravenswood by Qualico and Southwinds were also on the list of finalists, as well.
SHOW HOME PARADE OF THE YEAR
Southeast lake community Mahogany made a splash at the SAMs once again. This time for its standout show home parade featuring luxury models by Morrison Homes and Calbridge Homes on an upscale residential island.
“These homes offer a one-of-akind address and location which likely won’t be seen outside of Mahogany again in this city,” says Scott Hamilton, Hopewell’s director of marketing and customer experience.
“We wanted to honour it with a spectacular parade to match. Our builders outdid themselves with homes people will dream about, and we were happy to create a special place for them on the Island. It’s hard not to be impressed by a parade that showcase a lifestyle where lake living is quite literally out your back door.”
Finalists in the category include parades in Riverstone of Cranston, Symons Gate, Riviera of Riversong and Watermark at Bearspaw. Watermark is a luxury community by Macdonald Development Corp.