Carlinton Estates featured in Calgary Herald!
November 14, 2009
Click here to see Calgary Hearld Feature!
Estate community coming to Carstairs!
Many city folk actually grew up in small-town Alberta, small-town Saskatchewan--small-town almost anywhere.
But for job opportunities or other reasons, they ended up in the city.
Yet the memories of things like town socials, street hockey and grandma's apple pie--and just plain old friendly living that's not hurried and tense--continue to fill up dreams.
That's the reason Integrity Wealth Group and its private investors have launched a large, master-planned, mixed development in Carstairs--and why they have high hopes for the 50.6-hectare site, which is near the centre of town.
Carlinton Estates will feature 400 large, estate-series lots with back and front-yard landscaping.
It will also include four medium-density sites.
Three of them will be oriented to seniors with low-rise, multifamily units, with the fourth site offering townhomes oriented to the street with back lanes and rear garages.
Additionally, four hectares of the site will be highway commercial, and retail space will be spread throughout the community.
"The single-family homes will either have attached front-drive garages or optional rear, detached garages and there will be an estate phase with lots backing onto either a park or pond," says Barry Kozmyk, sales and marketing director of Carlinton Estates. "Lots are up to 52 feet (15.9 metres) wide, with the average size around 48 feet (14.6 metres) by 110 feet (33.5 metres)."
The man-made pond and surrounding green space will be about 2.4 hectares, and walking and biking trails will be included in the plans.
"We will have architectural controls to maintain the heritage look and feel of a small town," says Kozmyk. "
It will include front porches, all-white accents on homes and darker-coloured, vibrant exteriors. The extent of the architectural controls, which were done with the help of IBI Group, are a first for this town.
"This is also the first estate community in Carstairs. We are looking at creating a contemporary heritage village with a small-town look mixed with modern architectural design."
Home designs will follow traditional, prairie, Georgian, Colonial, or Craftsman styles.
The developer is poised to announce the builder group, which will likely consist of at least one Calgary builder, with the remaining ones from or near the immediate area.
The first phase consists of 73 lots, with semi-detached homes, single-family homes and estate homes represented.
The town has been growing, says Kozmyk, and that will continue with Carlinton Estates.
The latest statistics show the area with a population of 2,656 as of 2006, but it has grown since then.
The town is 48 kilometres north of Calgary at the intersection of Highway 581 and Highway 2A.
It has many services and amenities, including a sports complex, two golf courses (one 18-hole course is in town), parks and playgrounds, as well as expanding commercial sites. A new K-4 school is under construction, as well as a new library and e-learning centre.
"We carefully research every project we choose to work on with our investors," says Owen Shaw, a director with Integrity Wealth Group. "The diligence that we carried out concluded that Carstairs is poised for tremendous growth over the coming years."
As many as 38,000 new jobs are expected in the Calgary-Airdrie corridor over the next decade.
Recent developments such as the expansion of Stoney Trail in the north, the opening of CrossIron Mills near Balzac, the south Airdrie interchange and the widening of Highway 2 will attract people to the area.
Commutes will be easier and conveniences closer.
"As Calgary's industrial sector expands north of the city, employees of those businesses will be looking to reside in close proximity to their employers," says Shaw. "A town such as Carstairs offers families a wonderful balance of value, convenience and lifestyle."
Take Highway 2 north (the Queen Elizabeth II) to the second Carstairs turnoff and follow to the sales centre on the right.
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IN SHORT
PROJECT: New master-planned development of Carlinton Estates in Carstairs. The first phase of the community will consist of 73 lots, including estate lots backing onto a green space or man-made pond; single-family homes with either attached, front-drive garages or rear, detached garages; and semi-detached homes with optional rear, detached garages. The community is on 50.6 hectares and will have 400 homes by completion, four medium-density sites-- one of which will be street-oriented townhomes, the remainder seniors' housing-- and four hectares of highway commercial. Retail space, parks and pathways will be scattered through the community. The builder group will be announced soon.
DEVELOPER: Integrity Wealth Group Carstairs Land Corp.
LOCATION: The presentation centre is located on-site at the intersection of Highway 2A and Highway 581 in Carstairs, 48 kilometres north of Calgary on the QEII (Highway 2 north).
HOURS: Open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays to Mondays, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.
INFORMATION: Visit the website at www.carlintonestates.com
