STAYING IN THE EVANSTON LOOP
New Streetside development attracts first-time home buyers into northwest Calgary community
When the Mananita family compared their rental apartment with a new townhome development in Evanston, they saw the opportunity for improvements across the board.
They’re stepping into a larger living space, with more bedrooms, a garage, and the various benefits that come with owning over renting.
Jennielyn and Ruel Mananita, who have a 14-year-old son named Baron, bought their first home at the Loop at Evanston by Streetside Developments.
It’s selling out of a sales centre at 150 Evanscrest Manor N.W., where prices start from the $270,000s.
The builder also has other multifamily developments in various stages of planning, construction and sales in Redstone, Cranston, Silverado, inner-city Killarney, and West Springs.
“We saw a great opportunity,” says Jennielyn, adding “It’s better to buy than rent.”
For the Mananitas, it made financial sense, too. She says their monthly mortgage payments and utility fees will be comparable to what they’re now paying to rent an apartment-style condo in a community nearby.
They’re leaving 987 square feet with two bedrooms, for three bedrooms in more than 1,200 square feet. Jennielyn says her son and husband look forward to using the third bedroom to watch movies and play video games.
The cooking space was an important part of their decision, too. Particularly for Jennielyn, a professional chef who had her heart set on a functional kitchen.
She likes the design of the kitchen in their new home and lists granite counters, plenty of cabinets, and an open-concept design — making it easy to entertain while cooking — as essential features of the space.
At the Loop, kitchen standards include shaker style or modern flat panel cabinets with soft-close doors and drawers, a high-arc faucet with a pull-down sprayer, a tile backsplash, and Whirlpool stainless steel appliance package, including an over-the-range microwave.
There are seven floor plans at the Loop, ranging from 1,099 to 1,314 square feet, offered with two or three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. They come with a single or two-car tandem garage, as well.
For the Mananitas, this was another way the townhome was a step-up. They’re going from no covered parking to a tandem garage. “When we move to Evanston, we won’t have to scrape (ice off the windshield of our car),” says Jennielyn.
The Loop is Streetside’s second multi-family development in the northwest community, following Evanston Square.
It will boast a Salt Box architectural theme, including prominent front windows, and prairieinspired landscaping.
“While the Loop has many notable features, one striking element is the central reserve the development will be built around,” says Kimberley Orr, Streetside’s senior marketing co-ordinator. “Each phase will be built in its own corner or quadrant around the natural reserve where residents can run or walk their dogs.
The first of the Loop’s four phases has 36 townhomes that measure 14, 16 or 18 feet wide.
“Combine the openness of the outdoor space, the great design of the townhomes and the community of Evanston you have all the elements you would want to call home,” Orr adds.
Evanston is a master-planned by Qualico Communities and located in the scenic Symons Valley corridor. The community has around 20 hectares earmarked for green space and more than two kilometres in pathways.
“You have all the amenities already established,” says Jennielyn. This includes its close proximity to an assortment of places to shop and eat.
“I seldom go to the south because everything is already established here in the northwest,” she adds.
This includes Creekside Shopping Centre and Beacon Hill Shopping Centre. Creekside has a Co-op grocery store and there’s a Costco in Beacon Hill.
Evanston residents can also go grocery shopping in the community, itself. There’s a Sobeys at its four-hectare commercial complex dubbed Evanston Towne Centre.
When we move to Evanston, we won’t have to scrape (ice off the windshield of our car)