Enter The Courtyards of King’s Heights, which is set to bloom in Airdrie this fall, under Merge, Beattie’s multi-family branch. Buyers likely will recognize the adorable green-cloaked, red-hatted garden gnome asking to be taken home, who has sprouted up in the builder’s latest ads for the garden-friendly digs.

While the gnome in the ad may be pint-sized, the suite size and selection is anything but. And buyers for whom size matters will be delighted with the expanse of balconies. “I think the smallest balcony is more than seven feet by ten feet,” says Jacqui Green, marketing co-ordinator for Beattie, adding, “the largest is 16 feet by eight feet,” and one of the two-bedroom homes boasts two patios.

Suite sizes range from 635 square-feet to 991 square-feet, with one-bedroom, one-bedroom-and-den and grand two-bedroom-two-bath choices to select from. A total of 117 apartment-style condominiums are slated for the project, which will be constructed beginning next month, in three phases. Buyers who get in early can take advantage of pre-construction pricing in effect for the Courtyards, starting at an astonishing $194,900. “That’s an excellent price in this market,” says Green.

Standard fare included to ensure Courtyards buyers rake in the most value for their investments are French doors to patios—to help invite the outdoors in— as well as a choice of five black or white Energuide appliances, front-loading stacked washers and dryers, and low-E windows. Finishing packages are also being compiled for Courtyards residents to select from when they purchase, while the first 15 buyers who register on the website and subsequently buy will have their first new furnishing—a 37-inch LCD TV—waiting for them when they move in.

So far the location and price point have attracted plenty of home shoppers of all ages, but especially first-time buyers—some as young as in their 20s—and professionals looking to dig into the market and reap the benefits of the Courtyard homes, says Green. “We are trying to bring the gardenside concept to Airdrie. It’s a great location, right in King’s Heights just down Highway 2, for the young professional on a budget,” says Green. “The price point is conducive to that market.”

Empty nesters are equally lured by the small-town lifestyle without the added burden of home maintenance of single-family living, adds Green. “It’s Calgarians who are looking to get out of the city but still be close to work.” And, as the name would suggest, large landscaped grounds are planned for the common areas around the Courtyards of King’s Heights, including mature trees, lush grass and a gazebo that’s sure to become a gathering hot spot for residents. A ten-minute drive from the Calgary city limits, Courtyards residents also have at their disposal all the perks the Melcor community of King’s Heights affords them, such as an extensive pathway system to meander throughout the area and charming tree-lined boulevards.

First residents in the first building are expected to begin enjoying their Courtyards addresses in time for the summer gardening season of 2008, with the remaining two 39-suite phases to follow. A sales centre is now up-and-running at 4 Kingsland Close S.E., with hours of Monday through Thursday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and weekends and holidays, noon through 5 p.m. To get there, take Highway 2 (Deerfoot Trail) north to Airdrie, go east on Yankee Valley Rd. S.E. and follow the signs. CL

To register for The Courtyards of King’s Heights,  visit http://www.gardensidecondos.ca