Set in the foothills of Alberta with panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains, this development encompasses six hundred acres and will be the home to more than 3,000 families once it is complete.

Established in 1978, CalBridge had been a semi-custom and estate builder, creating between 40 and 50 and single-family houses a year, many in Calgary’s prestigious northwest community of The Hamptons. With CalBridge’s initial success in Cochrane’s Sunset Ridge, Joe Ferraro, president of CalBridge, saw opportunites to grow his company by expanding into the multi-family market.

With this expansion, CalBridge is now able to cater to the first-time home buyer right through to the downsizing market of retirees.

Three different housing options are available. The Mavericks make up 19 single-family homes “situated such that they all have views out the front.  Each home will have a balcony to enjoy the spectacular Rocky Mountains,” says Mike Ostafichuk, CalBridge’s chief operating officer. “The Rancheros are 56 side-by-side duplexes, priced in the mid-$400,000 range, with living spaces at 1,369 to 1,406 square-feet.” Both The Mavericks and The Rancheros are now selling, with a possession date scheduled for May 2008 for the Rancheros.

The third option available in The Homesteads is The Village, a three-building, four-storey complex situated on the southern border of the community. Prices start from the mid-$200,000s and range in size from 660 to 1,460 square-feet. One hundred twenty five units are planned, with sales starting in April and possessions forecast for 2009.

The maintenance-free community’s Mavericks and Rancheros will have a homeowners’ association, while the Village apartments will be governed by a condo association.

Sunset Pointe, a fourth CalBridge project of townhomes, is also slated for Sunset Ridge of Cochrane. Construction has begun on the first five-plex—which will be used as show suites and the second building, a duplex, will soon be underway. Prices range from the upper $300,000s, to $650,000 for a 2,000-square-foot two-storey walkout on the ridge.

“The Homesteads is a community within a community. We have a very sophisticated western flavour here. We want to have a mix of people—older and younger, professional and retired, people who are starting out, and also people who are downsizing—not down-quality, though,” Ostafichuk clarifies. “The breadth of product and the market provides us with the backdrop to create a dynamic community.”

CalBridge has introduced its Style Selection system, to aid in personalizing clients’ interior living spaces. There are various levels of finishes available for each of the projects in The Homesteads, developed by professional designers. Homebuyers can mix and match the palettes within three distinctive themes—western, contemporary and traditional—and permutations and combinations that are almost limitless.

 “It’s important to stay as close to your customer as you can,” continues Ostafichuk.  “There are over 100,000 parts in a house and two to three hundred people are involved in the process. We are trying to make this process exciting and fun! We want to educate our customers, set expectations that are clear and upfront and communicate regularly.” To that end, the builder has created a customer manual to identify the partnership between homeowners and CalBridge, and a process in which sales, customer liaisons and service managers “guide” buyers from pre-construction and construction stages, including four walkthroughs. “We are very thorough and want to stay on top of things. Our customer liaison people contact our customers every week with updates. I insist they tell them the good and any bad news, too. We want to be pro-active. We are refining the process all the time. We have received great feedback from customers!”
To extend the relationship long-term, a quarterly newsletter is also in the works to stay in contact with clients after the warranty period is over, says Ostafichuk, adding everything from fall and spring maintenance tips to new communities will be included.

The Homesteads of Sunset Ridge sales and selection centre, located at 101 Sunset Drive, Cochrane, has been nominated for a SAM Award, to be determined later this month.

The sales centre is open Monday to Thursday, 2 to 8 p.m. and weekends and holidays, noon until 5 p.m. A fresh and dynamic website for CalBridge is coming soon!