White Eagle repeats as Builder of the Year
Local company named Builder of the Year
For the second year in a row, White Eagle Homes of Edmonton soared to the top at the 2012 Alberta Awards of Excellence in Housing.
In total, the home builder won four awards and received its second Ralph Scurfield Builder of the Year award.
The 29th annual housing awards were presented Friday in Jasper as part of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association-Alberta (CHBA-Alberta) annual conference.
CHBA-Alberta had a record number of entries. More than 70 builders and renovators across the province submitted 383 entries that were then narrowed down to 51.
“We were thrilled to see so many quality entries from our members,” says Jim Rivait, CHBA-Alberta’s CEO. “All of the winners and finalists have creative designs and floor plans and we encourage consumers to visit and see for themselves.”
He adds that winners and finalists should be proud of their noteworthy accomplishments. “They have set themselves apart from the competition with their unique designs and layout options that impressed the 141 judges who participated in this year’s process.”
It’s not just White Eagle Homes that is soaring. The home building industry across Alberta continues its upward swing. Over the past two years, Alberta homebuilders started work on more than 16,500 single-family homes. So far in 2012, builders are ahead of last year’s pace by almost 13 per cent in urban areas and 20 per cent provincewide.
If current trends continue to the end of the year, singlefamily housing starts across Alberta will reach 17,400 units, a 14-per-cent increase over 2011. The number of multifamily starts will easily exceed 14,000 units, the best performance since 2008.
In Edmonton, total housing starts for the first eight months of 2012 were up from 2011 by close to 2,000 units. David Lan, a senior market analyst for the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, says employment and net migration continue to drive housing starts in the city.
In all, Edmonton homebuilders and renovators walked away with wins in 13 of the 18 awards categories. In addition to winning Builder of the Year, White Eagle Homes also took home hardware in four single-family home categories. Since 1996, the company has been building award-winning starter homes all the way up to estate homes.
Other winners from Edmonton were Habitat Studio and Workshop for its estate home over $1 million, Effect Home Builders for its green home, and Perry Signature Homes in the single-family category for homes between $750,000 and $1 million.
On the multi-family side, Edmonton’s Rohit Communities won in the multifamily complex division for Callaghan Ravines. Tapestry Developments clinched a win for townhouse/duplex over $325,000. Qualico Homes was singled out for multi-family apartment over $325,000, while Landmark Group of Builders took home the prize for multi-family apartment under $325,000.
Aquarian Renovations won in the renovation under $200,000 category for its Glenora residence.
CHBA-Alberta, which calls itself the voice of the residential construction industry in the province, also introduced its new president, David Hooge, of Stepper Homes in Calgary.
“I strongly believe that we have a responsibility to ensure that home ownership remains a reachable goal for Albertans,” says Hooge.
“There are continual cost pressures and it is important to remind government decisionmakers that those costs flow directly to the consumer. They get added to the mortgage, and in some cases, potential homeowners get bumped out of the market altogether.”