Soho 16330 24th Avenue Surrey 170 two, three and four bedroom townhomes by Zenterra Developments
Michael Bernard
The Vancouver Sun
Soho
Project location: 24 Avenue and 163 Street, South Surrey
Project size/scope: A three-storey development of 170 two-, three- and four- bedroom modern-design homes ranging from 1,477 to 2,034 square feet. All homes have large rooftop patios. Located within easy reach of three shopping centres.
Prices: From $659,990
Developer: Zenterra Developments Ltd.
Architect: Bernard Decosse Architect Inc., Vancouver
Interior designer: Zenterra Design Department
Sales centre: 2280 163 St. Surrey (New show suites and new release of homes on June 3)
Sales contact: Bryanna Christopherson
Hours: Noon — 5 p.m. daily
Telephone: 604-560-0272
Website: http://www.zenterra.ca/soho
Occupancy: 2017
In the lottery game that is finding an affordable single-family home in Metro Vancouver, Jared Tatterson readily admits he missed the boat. But he isn’t crying the blues about it.
That’s because he figures he’s much better off with a brand-new four-bedroom townhome with a rooftop patio that offers panoramic views of the White Rock Beach and the North Shore mountains. And, most importantly, there’s no lawn to mow.
“We actually had offers in on two different (single-detached) homes,” Tatterson said. The offers didn’t go through and then the summer came and the prices went through the roof. Then it just wasn’t affordable to have a single-family home.”
Instead, Jared, his spouse Julie and step-daughter Ava, 14, began looking around and happened on Soho last June, a townhouse development in South Surrey built by the award-winning builder, Zenterra Developments Ltd. It took them no time to make a decision.
“We absolutely love it because it feels [like] home, the place is spacious and beautiful and it’s everything we were looking for,” he said. “We just made the decision that we are not detached homeowners because I travel for work and we love to travel on a few vacations a year. We are gone a lot of the time, so we are not people that can keep up a home and mow the lawn.
“And that’s why for us, a townhouse where somebody takes care of the yard and takes care of the exterior of the house, it’s all managed. That’s more beneficial to us, to pay that extra couple of hundred dollars a month (in strata fees) to somebody to care of that, and it’s stress free.”
Zenterra sales manager Bryanna Christopherson says Tatterson and his family are typical of many of those buying into the larger-sized townhouses offered at Soho.
“We are seeing downsizers who take equity out of their home, cash in and still have a nice large space because they are used to a 3,000-square-foot house, she said. “Or we have people who have been living in smaller townhomes or condos and they want more space. While there have been a handful of investors, most buyers are end users.
“They are looking at Soho as a family home because a lot of them are priced out of the single-family home market. In this area, there are no single-family homes available for less than $1.2 million and that’s on the low end. If you only have $800,000 or $850,000, you can buy a brand new townhome of 2,000 square feet and don’t have to take care of the lawn, and have time on the rooftop patio.”
Christopherson said those who come to see Soho also like that the modern-design homes, by Vancouver architect Bernard Decosse, are different from the Craftsman or other traditional designs that have dominated many new developments in suburban Vancouver in the past 30 years. The use of colour on Soho’s exteriors — white with red, blue and purple — are a welcome relief from “a sea of beige,” she said.
Soho’s location is also a big selling point. On one side lies a large open meadow, parkland and a pond. On the other, within walking distance, are three major shopping centres — Morgan Crossing, Grandview Corners, and Grandview Centre — offering more than 1.2 million square feet of big box stores, specialty shops and restaurants, the urban-like amenities that inspired Soho’s name of New York fame.
“I grew up in this area and then I lived in Vancouver for 12 years and it is more walkable living here than when I lived at Broadway and Pine (in Vancouver), said Christopherson. “Every bank is here, Walmart is here, Superstore is here, Winners is here. It’s so convenient.”
The interiors at Soho, with their luxury level finishings, are also a big draw, she said. The entry foyer has easy-care porcelain floor tile that opens on to plank laminate flooring, with plush carpeting on all upper floor stairs, hallways and flex rooms.
All homes have fireplaces and entertainment centres, and come equipped with a convenient wire management system at no extra cost.
Kitchens feature modern Shaker-style or contemporary flat-panel cabinetry, quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances and a five-burner gas cooktop, a built-in wall oven and microwave. Kitchens come in either a galley style or an L-shape design and also include a generously sized island with pendant lighting overhead.
Ensuite bathrooms have seamless floor-to-ceiling Italian style porcelain tiles, double undermount sinks and Kohler fixtures and frameless glass showers. There is a powder room on the main level and a full bathroom on the lower level. All homes come with an attached garage.
Soho residents will share a 5,000-square-foot amenity building with two kitchens, two lounges including a large outdoor terrace area, a gym and pool tables and private meeting rooms. But the feature with the biggest wow factor remains the rooftop patio. They range from about 427 to 712 square feet, she said, adding “that is larger than some people’s entire condo space.”
“The rooftops get a huge reaction,” said Christopherson. “You can see the ocean from many of our homes, mountain view from many others. It’s low maintenance, it’s ready to go.”
“And they are also very private,” she said. “Many townhomes have yards that are often facing into one another and have no privacy. “But with our rooftops, you have a six-foot wall on either side of your home. It’s outdoor living for many who are not buying that single-family home, but still want some usable space outdoors.”
The dividers, in fact, started out as shorter in height, she said. Then she had a conversation one day with Zenterra president Rick Johal, telling him that at five feet high, most people would be able to easily peer over them into their neighbours’ patios. Johal promptly decided to redo all the patios, raising the divider to six feet.
It’s not surprising to have this attention to detail at Zenterra. The developer has won multiple awards over the years, including a Grand Georgie Award — considered the Oscars of the development industry — this year, and in 2016, for Best Multi-Family Homebuilder.
The patios are also finished nicely with concrete tiles, and come equipped with water faucets for gardening and hookups for gas barbecues, even a cable hookup for TV.
Tatterson said the rooftop patio, with its sweeping views of White Rock Beach and the North Shore mountains, was the deal closer for his family. “The deck that we have is massive. You can fit a dining room table up there. We’ve got a huge hammock up there.”
His family, who moved in this April, did choose one option amid a full slate of standard luxury features — a built-in barbecue and bar fridge and handy storage drawers for $8,000.
Now all that has to come is the patio furniture, he said. “Once everything is set up, in the summertime, you pretty much won’t leave there.”
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