VARIETY SHOW
Aragon’s Canoe will include detached homes, triplexes, townhomes and rowhomes
CANOE OFFERS HOUSINGA RANGE OPTIONS, OF FROM SINGLE- FAMILY RESIDENCES TO TRIPLEXES AND TOWNHOMES
Canoe
Project size: 83 homes ( 29 townhomes, 13 single family homes, 27 triplexes, 14 rowhomes) Address: 260 Ewen Ave., New Westminster Residence size: 2 bedrooms, 1,251 sq. ft; 3- bedrooms, 1,400 - 1,720 sq. ft; 4- bedrooms, 1,747 - 1,841 sq. ft Prices: from $ 439,900 Sales centre: 260 Ewen Ave., New Westminster Hours: noon - 5 p. m., Sat - Thurs Telephone: 604- 544- 2258 Developer: Aragon Properties Architect: Ramsay Worden Architects Interior design: Maria Zoubos, Aragon Properties Web: aragon. ca/ canoe Warranty: 2- 5- 10 by WBI Occupancy: Nov. 7
As one of the final projects in Aragon Properties’ Port Royal community, Canoe is designed to blend in with its neighbours. Its name follows in the wake of Aragon’s previous projects — Flow, Regatta, Paddlers Landing and Red Boat — reflecting Port Royal’s riverfront setting in the Queensborough area of New Westminster.
Canoe sales launched Sept. 27, with occupancy set for Nov. 7.
On the tip of Lulu Island in the Fraser River, Queensborough has retained its working river and rural character alongside burgeoning new retail and residential areas. Queensborough’s population is projected to more than double between 2011 and 2041, increasing from 7,125 to 14,825 residents. Port Royal, on the site of a former MacMillan Bloedel sawmill, will include some 1,000 housing units and 3,000 residents, according to Queensborough’s official community plan.
Canoe is “the last little pocket of single- family homes,” says Jennie Tao, Aragon sales and marketing coordinator. “Other single- family homes have been there for quite some time, so it’s kind of like meshing the two into the existing within the community.”
Canoe includes a range of housing types: single- family homes, triplexes, townhomes and rowhomes. “We actually have a little bit of everything,” says Tao. “That’s kind of the funny thing about our project is that all our homes accommodate everybody.
We have the two- bedroom in the triplex, which is for a new homebuyer. It’s going to be priced in the area of potentially a new homebuyer or somebody moving from a condo.
“There’s the young family, and we also have the downsizer. And then we also have our single- family homes, which are for people who are established or want to upgrade from a townhome into a single- family home.”
Exteriors are traditional with gabled roofs, colourful siding and front porches. Interiors are West Coast contemporary, with matte- finish engineered hardwood flooring throughout the main floor and flat- panel kitchen cabinets. All kitchens have full- sized stainless- steel GE Café appliances. “Our oversized appliances are actually the standard for regular singlefamily homes, but we’ve put them into all of our townhomes and the triplexes as well,” Tao says.
One of the triplexes contains three show homes, each styled to appeal to a different sort of buyer. The largest, 1,577 square feet with three bedrooms, is designed for a family. What would traditionally be the dining area at one end of the living room has been converted to a home office with built- in desk and cabinets. The spacious kitchen dining area accommodates a family- sized table with a window seat along one side, as well as built- in cabinets for storage and a second TV. A deck off the kitchen leads to a fenced back yard. As in all the homes, there is a basementlevel garage.
In a departure from previous Aragon projects, which had brick feature walls, the living room has wood panelling surrounding a linear electric fireplace and wired for flatscreen TV.
“Aragon is always striving to offer different and unique features,” Aragon interior designer Maria Zoubos says. “We sourced sustainable South American woods in eucalyptus, Peruvian walnut and a wengestained white mahogany.”
The 1,251- square- foot twobedroom show home is decorated for a single woman. The blond wood cabinetry and grey quartz counters are fresh, but sophisticated. Oversized mirrors in the dining area and hallway expand the space, as do mirrors attached to the Shakerstyle closet doors in the master bedroom. The third show home, furnished for a couple of downsizers, is 1,435 square feet with two bedrooms and a den. The living area is open plan with dark- stained kitchen cabinets and feature wall, and there are french doors opening to a veranda off the dining area. The adjacent den could be used as a ground- floor bedroom, although both bathrooms are upstairs along with the two main bedrooms.
In addition to the existing Queensborough Landing shops, there are plans for a commercial area around Furness Street just blocks from Canoe. It will be the arrival point for people using a proposed pedestrian and bike bridge between Queensborough and Westminster Quay and a place for residents to meet for coffee or stop on their way home to buy groceries. The popular Frankie G’s neighbourhood pub is right across Ewen Avenue.
Unlike mainland New Westminster, Queensborough is flat, making it ideal for walking and cycling. It has an extensive trail system including a perimeter trail that follows the bank of the Fraser River. There are 24.17 hectares ( 59.7 acres) of parks, including a fenced offleash dog park across the street from Canoe, and Port Royal’s community garden was the first in New Westminster.