The evolution of Ottawa's master-planned communities

It’s no surprise that Canadians – and Ottawans – love where they live. According to a survey conducted by Leger for RE/MAX, we genuinely celebrate the livability factors — the qualities that give us true satisfaction of our home within the context of a neighbourhood — when it comes to choosing a property to buy and live in. Released May 2, the study reveals that a whopping 89 per cent of us would recommend our neighbourhood to others.

“When buyers are looking for a home, the search begins at the neighbourhood level,” says Christopher Alexander, executive-vice president, RE/MAX of Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “And the good news is that Canadians have lots of choice when it comes to ‘livable’ cities and neighbourhoods.”

And nowhere is the choice of livable neighbourhoods as flush as in the Ottawa region. The city’s new-home landscape is growing, with juicy pickings for anyone looking to become a homeowner. And the sweet spot is, affordability and livability go hand-in-hand, especially in master-planned communities. These carefully thought out and conceived developments are designed to give resident homeowners the best living experience possible.

A changing landscape

Master-planned communities are not a modern-day housing invention, although how they are developed now is different than from a half-century ago. Then, it was typical to see one builder with a large swath of land build and sell all the homes, says Ron Desjardins, a senior advisor at the real estate sales and marketing firm, PMA Brethour in Ottawa.

“Over the last 50 years we have had master-planned communities synonymous with one builder having a large tract of land and putting a master plan on that. Now, five or six builders all own a few acres [of land] and that group comes together to hire all the expertise and develop a secondary plan. It evolves in a different way than they used to. In the green fields of the suburbs, it has become the norm.”

Another change includes the different types of homes being built. Previously, a community would consist of a 60 to 70 per cent mix of single-family homes. “Blocks were set aside for townhouses, parks and shopping but very little higher density,” explains Desjardins. “In recent times, as municipalities look at urban sprawl and try to reduce the amount of land used, they require developers to increase density in these master-planned communities.”

Jason Burggraaf, vice-president of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association, says increased density increases the diversity of the community.

“Essentially what you want as an ideal is to have different housing types in a community at different price points,” says Burggraaf. “That means some lowrise, some single family, some townhomes. With the city density target numbers they now have, you need a mix of housing type.”

Turning a master-planned community from a grassy acreage into homes, sidewalks, roads and services doesn’t happen overnight and in fact, takes years.

“It’s about time lines and the approval process, from roads to transport to environmental issues before you start developing the site and building the homes. A housing development from concept to the moment the first homeowner purchases a lot, can take up to five years, if not more,” says Burggraaf.

“Housing is one of the most regulated industries and the city has a lot of influence on how many homes, what types of homes there will be. A plan for the sub-division has to check off all the boxes of density targets and account for all the things the city wants to accomplish on the land.

“You have to take certain provisions, have so much for park land and put that aside, scope out so much for schools, hand over that land to the school board to develop.”

The benefits of experience

There are a number of master-planned communities being developed in the Ottawa area. Pathways at Findlay Creek is one of the newest neighbourhoods in the south end and is a 30-minute drive from downtown Ottawa. Three builders, Richcraft Homes, Phoenix Homes and eQ Homes, have joined forces to bring the community from concept to reality.

With more than 30 years of homebuilding experience, Richcraft has been involved in a number of master-planned communities. Of Pathways, marketing manager, Shawn Bellman, says the connection to nature makes it a very desirable place to live. “The benefits of living in Pathways is the community’s three parks, an environmentally protected area [Leitrim Wetlands] borders the greenbelt and its systems of nature trails. There is also a variety of [housing] product, the proximity to the city and existing amenities, plus Pathways will be home to future retail facilities along Bank Street.”

Building since 1997, Phoenix Homes is used to collaborating with quality builders. VP of operations, Rahul Kochar, says this means benefits all around.

“Combining our marketing efforts results in greater exposure for the community as a whole,” he explains. “The volume that the three of us can build in a single community means buyers can see it come to life that much faster.

“Also, a master-planned community typically features nicer amenities as the joint builder group can share the cost across the whole site. This means a warmer feeling community with more impressive features.”

eQ Homes has been building homes for 10 years and Tobin Kardish, marketing and product manager for eQ Homes, says the ability for first-time homebuyers to be able to afford a new home is what makes the master-planned communities so attractive.

“Because Pathways is a newer community and pricing is competitive, we’re seeing a lot of first-time buyers putting down roots. It’s really exciting for us to be part of that journey.

“We’re also hearing from many people who already live here and love the neighbourhood. They want to stay here and come to us when they’re looking to downsize or move to a bungalow.”