For the rapidly gearing up community of Pathways at Findlay Creek, it’s all about smart design ideas, proximity to nature, and easy access to amenities.
eQ Homes, Richcraft Homes and Phoenix Homes are sharing the 127-acre, south-end development off Bank Street near Findlay Creek Village. The site is fully launched, and the three companies will eventually build about 900 homes, with a mix of towns, bungalows and two-storey singles. Condo flats will also be added later. Occupancy at Pathways is expected to start in early 2019.
Each of the builders is spotlighting some of its newest home designs at Pathways, which borders the Greenbelt and its system of nature trails and other natural enticements. The three are also building a row of model homes to showcase their offerings.
The master-planned community of Pathways at Findlay Creek will have its own retail facilities, is close to existing services along Bank Street, and is a quick drive from the airport and other amenities.
Multi-generational living
eQ Homes, part of the Regional Group which is developing the land where Pathways is being built, is showcasing a multi-generational design in its Riviera single-family home.
Available in other communities, the Riviera has an option to turn the first-floor den and part of its oversized garage into a fifth bedroom with its own ensuite.
“We took a close look at the kind of buyers we’re seeing, and we found a lot who have parents living with them,” says Tobin Kardish, eQ’s sales and marketing manager. Hence the 3,400-square-foot Riviera, which starts at $674,900 at Pathways.
eQ is also spotlighting its two-storey towns, from the 1,476-square-foot Pandora to the 1,898-square-foot Scarlet. “We wanted to come up with something a little more affordable … for empty nesters or first-time buyers,” says Kardish. So eQ is offering at Pathways the towns that have proven popular in other communities. The towns are eQ’s least expensive homes in the new community, starting at $315,900.
The new development of Pathways holds a range of attractions for buyers, according to Kardish, from its convenient, 25-minute drive to downtown to the new school slated for the neighbourhood.
He adds that the name Pathways refers to the area’s natural typography but also to “the pathways in people’s lives, how they own their first home and then another and maybe another.”
Income homes in the community of Pathways at Findlay Creek
Phoenix Homes is putting the income-generating potential of the place where you live front and centre by making the Klondike one of its model homes at Pathways – the first time it’s been a model home.
The five-bedroom, 4,376-square-foot home features a full, one-bedroom suite on the lower level, including a kitchen and a separate entrance. An optional two-bedroom suite is also available.
Renting out the suite “augments your income,” says Rahul Kochar, Phoenix’s vice-president of operations. “This is a way for someone who might otherwise be in a 35-foot home to move up to a 50-foot home.”
He says he’s already been assured by at least one bank that it would be willing to provide a mortgage that takes the “assumed rent” into account, in part because the rental market in Ottawa is strong.
The income series of homes, available in other Phoenix communities, would also work well for empty nesters interested in heading south for the winter, according to Kochar. That’s because having a tenant puts the owner’s mind at ease about being away for an extended period.
Kochar says Phoenix is also highlighting its newer, modern elevations by taking advantage of the Pathways development to build its first model homes to showcase the elevations. One of the models is the Klondike, and the other is the Melbourne single-family home.
He adds that this area of the city is proving popular in part because “it has a little less density than some other, more established areas of town. It’s quasi-rural.”
Phoenix homes at Pathways start at $397,900 for a one-bedroom Claremont bungalow.
Bigger townhomes
Richcraft Homes, the third builder in the community of Pathways at Findlay Creek, is planning a mix of roughly 200 executive towns and 110 bungalow and two-storey singles, according to marketing manager Shawn Bellman.
The towns – including the Odessa, Stillwater and Fairhaven, all at over 2,200 square feet – are larger homes that respond to buyer demand, says Bellman.
“It’s a factor in the market. It was downsizers buying these towns, but now it’s also younger buyers.” He says there’s also a contingent of existing townhome owners wanting to move up to larger towns.
Richcraft’s homes at Pathways start at $369,900 for the three-bedroom Dalton townhome.
Bellman says that the community’s theme of nature, including its three parks, will be a pull for buyers.
“There’s the big, environmentally protected area (the Leitrim Wetland) with some larger lots and some towns backing on to it.”
He also points out that buyers will be able to avoid the increasingly slow east-west commute of the Queensway.
Just as importantly, “having three builders at Pathways gives more variety of look and appeal to the homes.”
For more information, check out our Pathways at Findlay Creek development profile.
