HOW TO CREATE A NEW COMMUNITY THAT BRINGS NEIGHBOURS TOGETHER
Creating a new community is an exciting endeavour because it’s the start of a legacy where relationships and friendships bond neighbours.
Starting a new development, such as Cranston’s Riverstone in south Calgary, calls for a real team effort, say those who helped bring the neighbourhood to life.
Developer Brookfield Residential and each builder played a significant role in establishing the community, says Allison Harvie, sales and marketing manager with Cedarglen Homes (cedarglenhomes.com).
A landscaping program offered by Cedarglen helps things like front yards transition from dirt to grass more quickly, says Harvie.
“And Brookfield has done a good job with the architectural guidelines … making sure every home in that community has James Hardie exteriors, lots of stone,” she adds.
The key to having such style guidelines, Harvie says, is there’s no dividing line between the different types of home styles — their owners all feel part of the same community.
Thanks to a location overlooking the Bow River, connected to Fish Creek Provincial Park and close to local shopping and other amenities, Cranston’s Riverstone is a lifestyle community.
And its builders work to promote that lifestyle, says Cedarglen area sales manager Kimberley-Holstein.
“Buyers see this as a nice place to come home from the hustle and bustle of the city,” she says. “On any given day, it’s lovely to see people out walking and on their bikes — we’re nestled into Fish Creek Park, so we’re part of that network of (pathways). And so we get that small-town feel.”
What makes a neighbourhood a community, “is really the people and the families that live there and how the community serves the need of those families,” says Jeff Smyth, president of Baywest Homes ( baywesthomes.com). He says builders meet the needs of families by offering varied housing types, while “giving tools to our homeowners that they can use to really personalize their homes.”
At the same time, he says a successful community will strike a balance between indoor activities and outdoor options.
Another tool that helps connect residents is social media, says Chalsey Bugeaud, area sales manager for Trico Homes (tricohomes.com). At Cranston’s Riverstone a Facebook group helps residents stay up to date on what’s happening in their community.
“The residents association also puts on a ton of events — people get involved with each other,” she says. “Brookfield designed Riverstone very well with a lot of greenspace where people gather together, and in keeping the ( home) designs organic, the elevations, the exteriors go together.”
A focal point such as a community hall or central park can also help create a feeling of togetherness. In Riverstone, residents can access Cranston’s 22,000-square-foot Century Hall, which provides a true hub for the neighbourhood and its residents association.
“We think Brookfield does a residents association in a very different way,” says Jessie Seymour, senior manager of strategic marketing for Brookfield.
“We built it as an amenity that will be a legacy within a community, providing great connections and a gathering space. It offers programs from recreation to education to different events through the year.”
Wanda Palmer, Trico’s vice-president of marketing, adds: “The real benefit of living in a Brookfield community is they create a very active residents’ association and this adds a lot of value to people who live in the community.”
Harvie says Riverstone’s builders work together to promote community gatherings.
“Most recently, our entire building parade did a community barbecue … to give back to the existing residents and give them a chance to talk among their neighbours,” she says.
Seymour adds: “When you start getting residents together and having coffee or playing sports or going to a movie in the park … that’s when they feel they’re part of a community and a place where they feel they belong.”
For more information about Cranston’s Riverstone, visit experienceriverstone.ca.
Buyers see this as a nice place to come home from the hustle and bustle of the city.