DOUBLING UP ON STORAGE SPACE
Two-car garage at Brand Townhomes offers couple room for outdoors gear, music studio
A deep double car garage is for more than just large trucks and SUVs.
Sometimes they provide the ample storage home buyers are looking for. Such was the case with Katrina Richards and Darren May.
The young couple, who have lived in Banff for the past seven years, bought at the Brand Townhomes by Birchwood Properties in Cochrane. This development is part of Heartland, a master-planned community by Apex Developments on the west end of town. Excel Homes and Jay- man Built are part of the community’s builder group, as well.
Birchwood is also constructing the Ezra on Riley Park development in Calgary’s inner-city.
Richards and May bought a townhouse with a two-car garage measuring about 19 feet by 24 feet five inches, which is comparable to what’s seen on some front-drive single-family homes.
The space will come in handy, but not in the way others might use it.
“We don’t have big trucks,” Richards says. “Just all our ski equipment, snowboard equipment, my motorcycle.”
Living in Banff, the couple has enjoyed making use of the Rocky Mountains. Richards, from Cowichan Valley, B.C., loves to snowboard, and May, a native of Great Malvern, U.K., is a ski instructor.
May is also in a Calgary-based band and plans to turn part of the garage into a small studio.
They bought the Highland townhome, which is one of two floor plans at Brand with a two-car attached garage, along with the Galloway.
Its Devon floor plan has a singlecar garage, but at between 22 feet six inches and 26 feet five inches deep, it still has the space larger vehicles need.
“The garage sizes have been a huge draw,” says Adele Kerr, sales and marketing manager for Birchwood Properties.
“Instead of the typical garages you’d expect with a townhome, that might fit a car or smaller SUV, Brand’s garages were specifically designed to be able to fit trucks and more family-sized SUVs with room to spare.
“People choosing Brand are quite active and enjoy taking advantage of being in close proximity to the mountains.”
May and Richards have been living in a small, two-bedroom apartment- style condo. When they decided they’d rather own than rent, they looked into what was available in Banff, where they both have jobs. Richards works in marketing and promotions for a bar in town and May manages a warehouse.
But they had their hearts set on something more affordable than what Banff offered at the time. Both the prices and drive time to Banff made Cochrane a natural fit.
Richards says Cochrane to Banff is “about an hour door-to-door,” and calls the commute similar to what some drive through Calgary. “It’s also a beautiful drive, in general,” she adds.
“With what we’re paying in Banff, we discovered that you could pay the same for a mortgage in Cochrane and get more out of it,” says Richards. “With the interest rates being the way they are, it seemed like a good time to jump on board.”
Now 53 per cent sold through its opening phase, Brand has three floor plans starting from $232,900, $257,900 and $277,900, respectively. All prices are before tax.
“Being able to purchase a new townhome with an attached garage for under $250,000 is incredible,” says Kerr.
Their standards include ninefoot ceilings on the main level, and kitchens with Energy Star-rated stainless steel appliances.
Brand’s Prairie and Heritage exterior design theme is a tip of the Stetson to the town itself.
“The inspiration behind this was the historic small town country living of Cochrane,” says Kerr.
A sales centre for the development is at 32 Horseshoe Crescent. First possessions are expected for May.
Richards and May’s townhome is 1,372 square feet, which is the largest of the three floor plans. It and the 1,247-square-foot Galloway are offered in either two- or three-bedroom orientations. The 1,055-square-foot Devon floor plan has two bedrooms.
The couple went the three-bedroom route.
“The floor plan options were certainly an attraction,” says Richards. “Working primarily in Banff, it’s nice being able to conduct some work remotely at home, so an office was key.”