NEW DEVELOPMENT BUILDS ON `DEEP CONNECTIONS' IN KANATA
Builders at Copperwood Estate unveil a diverse mix of housing types
Once upon a time, St. Isidore Catholic School on the northern fringe of Kanata was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by farmers' fields and forest, its only significant neighbour the church next door. But times have changed and the march up March Road has finally reached the school, which will soon have a sparkling new fire station next door, along with a new suburb — Copperwood Estate.
Launched in the fall by Uniform Urban Developments and Claridge Homes, Copperwood Estate is the latest project in Kanata North and the second development as part of the Kanata North Urban Expansion Area.
The expansion area just north of Kanata's bustling high-tech hub encompasses almost 450 acres (181 hectares) and five builders (Brigil, Claridge, Minto Communities, Uniform and Valecraft). It will include multiple schools and parks, pathways, a park-and-ride and possibly a library. Minto was the first builder to develop in the expansion area, launching Brookline in 2021.
Uniform and Claridge's project encompasses about 120 acres and will see some 600 singles, towns and bungalows, along with higher density housing that will come later. The development includes a natural corridor cutting through the site to accommodate the Shirley's Brook creek, other parks and natural areas, including two ponds, walking paths throughout, a future park-and-ride at the development's entrance and a future school next to the project.
“It's building on an existing community that is very established; there's some deep connections there,” says Emily Meyers, who is marketing manager for Uniform. “There's two builders involved here that are bringing forward really diverse ranges of housing types ... there's good variety so that there's going to be interesting streetscapes.”
In a lacklustre market, both builders have seen encouraging sales and interest.
“There was probably a little bit of pent-up demand for Uniform,” says Meyers. “We were out in Kanata selling for many years at Richardson Ridge, but we had since sold out, so there was a good following for us out in that neck of the woods.”
UNIFORM'S HOMES
Uniform has a mix of singles on lots ranging from 36 to 47 feet wide. The singles include two new bungalow floor plans and two new two-storey floor plans, all designed by Hobin Architecture. Uniform also expects to soon introduce new townhome floor plans with a contemporary exterior, to complement its current Craftsman-styled towns.
All homes come with a finished basement space, smooth ceilings, hardwood on the main floor and stairs, air conditioning, and more.
“We decided to continue to ride the Uniform tradition of high-end, high-spec'd homes,” says Meyers. “We know the market is changing but we didn't necessarily want to start pulling things out of our homes to achieve a price point. We still have to honour what it is that differentiates us.”
At the time of writing, Uniform prices were starting from $682,000 for towns and from $969,000 for singles.
CLARIDGE'S HOMES
Claridge has a mix of singles on lots ranging from 31 to 45 ft wide, along with townhomes. Claridge is also introducing new floor plans to meet today's lifestyles.
“We have seen changes in how people are planning to use the different spaces in their homes, and what they want to modify,” says Kayla Pollock, Claridge's interior design and marketing manager. That has prompted the builder to develop floor plans with secondary dwelling units, ones to accommodate multi-generational living and even fun features like a dog washing station or a coffee bar.
“These will be rolling out very soon as part of our Links series lineup,” Pollock says.
In the Links series in particular, Claridge offers smooth ceilings and quartz counters throughout as part of the included features, while towns have a finished basement. Other features and finishes vary.
At the time of writing, Claridge's prices were starting from $649,900 for towns and $868,900 for singles.
Site preparation at Copperwood Estate is still underway, with home construction expected to begin this summer and occupancy anticipated in 2025, which is also when model homes at the site should be ready to tour. (Uniform is using its Richardson Ridge model in the meantime.)
“We're really excited,” says Meyers. “Our success at Richardson Ridge had us keen to come back to Kanata.”