Aliesha Bensler, of DAAS Developments, walks along recently paved roadway in the new community of Coulee Ridge on Monday, Sept. 7, 2020. The site that includes 44-residential lots will be central to the upcoming 2020 Parade of Homes that is put on by the Canadian Homebuilders Association in Medicine Hat starting this week. -- NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
A new housing development in Medicine Hat that’s leaned heavily on a virtual marketing campaign is becoming a reality.
On Wednesday, Coulee Ridge will open up for public viewing to coincide with the launch of the 2020 Canadian Homebuilders Parade of Homes.
And again, 18 months after it was first proposed, the “lake and view” community in southwest Medicine Hat relies on the imagination, and virtual tours of home designs.
But with lots, sidewalks, roads, and deep utilities put in place on the grassland parcel overlooking the Seven Persons coulee, those behind the project say the public will be surprised.
“A lot of people have said they had no idea so much had been happening,” said Don Sandford, the head of Eclave Ventures, which announced their intention to build the community in March 2019.
Work since then, by local firm MJB Enterprises, has the site nearing readiness for contractors to take possession this fall and get foundations in before freeze up, said Sandford.
“We’re very close to putting up 10 or 11 homes this year, though it’s been a challenge.”
The company has said that reaction has been positive and encouraging, and that work with city planners has expedited the project, but meeting timelines in a pandemic environment has required extra effort, said Sandford.
As for market reaction, there are 16 lots remaining in the initial 44-lot first phase. That uptake includes reservations, but also 22 completed sales, including three lots in the yet-to be schedule Phase 2 of the community that could eventually comprise more than 200 lots.
According to the City of Medicine Hat planning department, new home permits are keeping pace with last year’s construction levels despite fears the pandemic and related economic uncertainty would dampen activity.
Still, 2019 was an historically slow year.
Aliesha Bensler is with DAAS Developments of Medicine Hat. Her company has seven of the lots in phase one and she said that a portion of the homebuying market is keyed in right now and seriously looking at being able to tailor homes to their needs.
“There’s been a great amount of interest in the lots,” said Bensler, who also works on behalf of Enclave. “People are re-evaluating what they need in a home — an office, a gym — and with amenities in the here, they are interested in new builds.”
A white tent virtual experience at the site north of South Boundary Road, west of Southridge Drive, will allow attendees to take a virtual reality tour of the community that boasts panorama view overlooking gold courses in the valley beneath, but also experience computer models of home designs offered by builders. The public will also be encouraged to tour the site, and view lot information via QR codes accessible through cellphones.
Parade of Homes
The 2020 Parade of Homes will kick off on Wednesday night and last through October 4 with five built homes open available for in person viewings with COVID precautions in place. Showings take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, as well as from 1 to 5 p.m. on weekends. Mask use is mandatory.
Those are projects by Lacey Homes, Belcore Homes, Brost Developments, Jasper Fine Homes, and Wahl Construction are located in the communities of Ranchlands, the Hamptons, Saamis, Eagle Ridge in Dunmore, Vista, respectively.
