MAKING WAVES
Location gives Regatta a leading edge in Auburn Bay
Brookfield Residential founded the southeast Calgary community of Auburn Bay in 2005. Today, with a population nearing 18,000 residents, this lake community south of Stoney Trail is nearly complete, with only a few opportunities to build a new home remaining.
The final multi-family project under construction in Auburn Bay is Regatta, by Brookfield's multi-family division, comprising three buildings of apartment-style condos and nine blocks of townhomes.
Rachel Curle and Mark Kupis each purchased condos in Regatta, taking possession of their respective homes in late 2020. It was a first home of her own for Curle, a licensed practical nurse, and an investment property for Kupis, a sales representative.
Regatta has many attractive selling features, but its location was the most important for both buyers.
“I love living in this area,” says Curle, who moved to Auburn Bay from her parents' home in Martindale and works in Whitehorn. “My church is just up the road and my friends all live down here. I take Stoney Trail to Mcknight to work and it takes about 20 to 25 minutes.”
Kupis lives nearby in Mahogany and prior to his purchase he had spent a year looking for an investment opportunity. He had decided against buying a resale property and renovating it, believing new construction might someday garner a better return. Purchasing a new condo so close to home was ideal.
“I was looking for location, price point and quality interiors,” says Kupis. “As a first-time investor, purchasing a home as an investment was a whole different story. You put all this money into a place that someone else may not care about as much as you.
“The transparency, responsiveness and knowledge of the Brookfield sales people helped.”
Prior to buying, Curle had casually considered other places in the southeast. Regatta became the first serious contender after she visited a friend who had purchased a townhome there.
“I thought, wow, I want one of these,” she says.
The day after visiting her friend, she put down a deposit to hold a unit but came to the realization that a townhome would really be too big. So she opted for a more manageable two-bedroom, two-bath condo.
“I had the down payment in an RSP. It came together in a week to 10 days,” Curle says.
The condos are all but spoken for and only 20 of Regatta's 59 townhomes, including the show home, remain to be sold.
The townhomes are 1,200 square feet to 1,417 square feet, and are priced from the low $300,000s.
There are four plans — the Carmine, the Sienna, the Indigo and the Crimson.
Three of those plans are two-storey models with a basement and garage on the lower level. The largest is a walkout model.
Community manager Suzanne Hylton says buyers love the townhomes' open-concept floor plans.
“We offer your typical three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom plan or a dual master with 2.5 bathrooms. The dual master works for a first-time buyer starting out, maybe with a roommate,” she says.
Carpet, laminate and tile are standard and all interior selections can be made at Regatta's sales centre — a “one-stop shop,” Hylton says.
Regatta residents have full lake privileges in Auburn Bay and the advantage of having a new home in an established area with transit service and schools already in place.
“I don't just sell here, I live here,”
Hylton says. “We have 17 different lots, three ponds, parks and pathways. There are a lot of young families — a lot of good people in this neighbourhood.”
The Regatta show home can be seen by appointment or visitors can scan a QR code outside, answer a health questionnaire and be admitted when safety and distance permits.
THE DETAILS
DEVELOPMENT: Regatta Auburn Bay Condos and Townhomes.
DEVELOPER/BUILDER: Brookfield Residential.
COMMUNITY: Auburn Bay.
HOMES: Dual master or three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 1,200 square feet to 1,417 square feet two-storey and three-storey walkouts.
PRICES: Condos are sold out; townhomes from the low $300,000s.
INFORMATION: The show home is at Auburn Meadows Dr. S.E. and is open by appointment. Regatta.brookfieldresidential.com