Editor’s note: This story originally stated the starting price for a Carbon Busters townhome was $579,000. However, the city said Thursday that the starting price was revised to $527,500. The story has been updated to reflect the change.
The first four builders for phase one of Edmonton’s sustainably designed Blatchford neighbourhood has been announced: Encore Master Builder, Mutti Homes, Ocheller by RedBrick, and Carbon Busters.
But living at the former airport-turned-residential neighbourhood won’t come cheap: starting prices for the townhomes range from $490,000 to $600,000.
Each will have a private backyard and back-alley access garages capable of having garden suites over them.
The city said the four builders share the city’s vision for “high-quality, architecturally designed sustainable buildings.”
The city said the builders have incorporated additional sustainability features, such as secondary basement and garage suites to increase housing options and affordability, and additional amenities like rooftop decks and accessibility features.
READ MORE: Future Edmonton property tax hike one option to plug $93M Blatchford shortfall
Tegan Martin-Drysdale, president of RedBrick, said she’s been waiting a long time for a development like this to come along.
“This has been many years in the making. I have dreamt of creating a housing line that was sustainable and use a lot of natural Canadian materials,” she said, adding Blatchford’s values align with the types of properties she wants to build.
“It’s all new construction and it’s already in a location that has a lot of amenities around it, so from an affordability and construction perspective, it’s much easier to build in a place like Blatchford than out in mature neighbourhoods where there’s trees and the existing neighbours,” Martin-Drysdale said.
She said they are marketing the townhomes to young professionals who want to be close to downtown and live a transit-oriented, environmentally friendly lifestyle.
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The home builders are now selling units with construction scheduled to begin this year. It was hoped residential possessions would begin in 2019, however, construction would have had to begin in 2018 for that to happen. Martin-Drysdale said she has been pleased with the process of working with the city on the project.
“These things to take time, and I’m glad that the city has actually taken the time to do it right, and to make sure that they have everything in place. And they do, I’m impressed,” she said.
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READ MORE: Edmonton’s Blatchford area could see residents begin moving in by 2019
Below is a summary of each townhome builder:
Carbon Busters
Starting price: $527,500 (incl. landscaping, fence, garage & gst)
Square footage range: 1300 – 1900
Number of bedrooms: Three to four (plus secondary suites)
Highlights: Net Zero for energy with solar panels on the roof, quartz counters, large second-floor patios, Solar PV on every home, and barrier-free units available. Carbon Busters says the homes will not have furnaces, oil or natural gas. It is pre-selling seven townhomes at Blatchford.
Encore Master Builder
Starting price: $598,900 (incl. secondary suite, landscaping, garage, fence & gst)
Square footage range: 1500 – 1624 (plus 668-682 secondary suite)
Number of bedrooms: Three (plus secondary suites)
Highlights: Secondary suites with separate entrances, private balconies off master suites, 9′ ceilings, quartz counters, vinyl plank flooring, optional rooftop patio and basement plan.
Encore Master Builder said it will be releasing the first 10 units for sale on Thursday at 9 a.m. A showhome for the builder will be opening in the near future, the company’s website said. Below is the floor plan for the show home.
Mutti Homes
Starting price: $525,000 (incl. landscaping, deck, double detached garage & gst)
Square footage range: 1650 – 1850
Number of bedrooms: Three (plus secondary suites)
Highlights: Units facing a pedestrian-only pathway, basement suites with back/side entrance option, 10′ ceilings, modern interior design, fully upgraded fixtures and kitchen, hardwood floors, quartz counters and optional den on the main floor, double 22′ deep garage.
Ocheller by RedBrick Group of Companies
Starting price: $490s (incl. landscaping, fence, garage & gst)
Square footage range: 1480 – 1800
Number of bedrooms: Three (plus secondary suites)
Highlights: Nest8 is described as “a contemporary vision for urban dwelling with varied rooflines, articulated façades, premium energy efficiency performance, solar panel readiness, and designer interiors with natural material palettes inspired by the Canadian landscape.” Ocheller’s development will have eight townhouses combined into two blocks of four.
In total, approximately 200 to 250 townhomes with potential garage suites, condo townhomes, stacked townhouses, and other low- to mid-rise condos and apartments will be built in the first phase, located on the west side of the site.
The city said additional builders are being selected for the next phase of development in stage one, which includes condo townhouses and four- to six-storey mixed-use buildings. In 2017, about 60 companies had expressed interest in helping to build the community.
Blatchford is designed to house to up to 30,000 people when complete. The aim is to make it a sustainable community with its own geothermal district energy facility.
Work to remove concrete and contaminated soil got underway in 2015, with more than 121,000 tonnes of concrete and asphalt being recycled for re-use on the site.
The city began installing underground utilities in July 2016. More than 8,000 metres of water mains, storm and sanitary sewers, and geothermal pipes were installed and 1,400 metres of curb and gutters constructed, showing where streets will eventually go. In December 2017, road construction began.
READ MORE: Edmonton unveils plans for first residential phase of Blatchford redevelopment
The community was named after Blatchford Field, the original name of the city centre airport when it opened in the late 1920s.
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