Bertrand Creek at 28th Avenue and 276 Street Aldergrove 61 three and four bedroom single family homes by Epic Homes
Area has seen little residential growth for years ? until now
SHAWN CONNER
The Vancouver Sun
Project name: Bertrand Creek
Project location: 28th Avenue and 276 Street, Aldergrove
Project size: 61 three- and four-bedroom single-family homes on a 20-acre site
Residence size: 2,935 — 3,494 square feet (the latter with finished basement)
Price: from $759,980
Developer: Epic Homes
Architectural design: Freddy Sale & Associates Ltd.
Interior design: Leanne Leon
Website: bertrandcreek.com
Sales centre: 2778 275A Street
Contact: Ken Klassen and Janine Mackie
Phone: 604-262-2965
Hours: noon — 6 p.m., daily
Completion date: spring/summer 2017
Big things are happening in Aldergrove.
An area that hasn’t seen residential growth in many years is expanding, thanks to new developments — one being Bertrand Creek, a community of 61 single-family homes on a 20-acre site.
Many people coming to view the site and the show home are from nearby, sales coordinator Janine Mackie said.
“There’s a lot of excitement among locals,” she said. “They’re like ‘wow,’ their eyes glaze over and jaws drop [and they say] ‘I haven’t seen new homes here in so long.’ They see the quartz countertops, the high ceilings, and get really excited.”
All told, there are three home models to choose from: Anderson, Bertrand and Latimer. The Anderson (the show home) is the largest, and has the most open floor plan.
In the Bertrand, the kitchen is the feature of the home, which is L-shaped and also has a covered deck. The Latimer’s great room ceiling is vaulted, with views to the second floor. All three are named after area watersheds.
The exteriors are Craftsman-style, with gabled rooflines, and come in six different colour schemes, pre-determined by the builder. The homes have three bedrooms, with an option for a fourth, and landscaped yards.
On the main floor of the Anderson, visitors are greeted by a large, welcoming, open-concept space. A dining and living area and a kitchen with an island occupy the space, which is all the more inviting due to 10-foot-high ceilings. The main floor of the Anderson plan features a den/office area off the front entrance, as well as a powder room.
A door leads to a double side-by-side garage. Homes also feature patios and decks.
In the kitchen, the appliance package is from Frigidaire, and includes a double-door fridge. There is soft-close cabinetry, tile backsplash and a pantry.
The main floor features German-designed wide-plank laminate flooring. Carpeted stairs lead to a second floor that opens to a TV lounge. The space can be converted to a fourth bedroom, Mackie said.
Epic Homes, the developer, commissioned its own woodworker to do the millwork. The stained poplar millwork accents the home.
The master bedrooms are large enough for a king-sized bed, and a 14-foot vaulted ceiling maintains the open feel of the main floor. There is also a large walk-in closet and main bath. Extras include double doors for the bedroom and spa-style door for the ensuite, which comes with a soaker tub, shower and double sinks.
The size of the homes depends, in part, on whether they come equipped with a basement, which is determined by the home’s elevation. In homes with a basement, options include an extra legal suite (a two-bedroom in the Anderson plan, and a one-bedroom in the Bertrand and Latimer) and a wet bar. There is also a 300-square-foot flex room that is the perfect size for a home gym, Mackie said.
The first 12 homes have released, and eight have been sold.
The homes will be released, not in phases, but a few at a time, including some at the end of October. Homes backing on to greenbelt, with its stands of red cedar, alders, maple trees and Douglas Firs, are more expensive. Two of these homes have been released, with more to come.
In fact, half of the self-contained community itself is protected green belt. Walking and nature trails, a pedestrian pathway, a dog park, pond and a bike path around the perimeter of the site are part of the plan. Bertrand Creek, a salmon-bearing stream, runs through the site.
Empty-nesters from neighbouring communities have expressed interest, and young families are also enthusiastic about what Mackie calls “a storybook neighbourhood”.
Families are coming from places like Delta, Cloverdale and Clayton Heights, she said, and many are discovering Aldergrove and its charms, such as like the Metro Vancouver’s last surviving drive-in theatre, the Twilight, as well as raspberry fields and roadside stands selling farm-fresh eggs.
Aldergrove straddles the border between West Abbotsford and Langley, and over the next two decades, is expected to grow from 12,000 to over 20,000 people. New amenities include a recreation centre with an outdoor pool and arena, scheduled for opening in 2018.
Bertrand Creek is five minutes from the Canada/USA border, nine minutes to Highstreet Shopping Centre in Abbotsford, and 12 minutes to the Abbotsford Airport. Vancouver is an hour or so away, depending on traffic. Shortreed Community School is nearby.
Chris Mitchell recently bought a home with an Anderson plan and a finished basement. He’s 34, self-employed, and married with a child.
“The downstairs is going to be my office, as well as an adult area, with the family taking up the top two floors,” he said.
Part of their decision to buy in Bertrand Creek had to do with wanting to stay in Langley, he said.
“The prices for anything comparable isn’t really close,” he said. “It costs more for an older home that doesn’t look as nice. For us, we had our minds set on a new house.”
The Mitchells did a quite a bit of looking first, he said.
“There isn’t a lot of new construction in Langley. It’s typically only townhouses or condominiums. It was one of the few that was happening. The rest of the houses we were looking at were older and needed a lot of work. Between renovations and a house where your kid is compromised, it probably wasn’t the best idea.”
A new house was important to the family, he said, not just for the warranty, but also for the clean environment — particularly for his son. The three-year-old has cancer and has been undergoing treatments for the last year.
“We didn’t really focus on anything this last year except treatment,” Mitchell said. “He’s going to finish in about six months, which is about when the house is going to be ready. It just worked out perfectly in terms of the house being ready when he’s done treatment.
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