An Edmonton company’s first-place finish at this year’s provincial home-building awards gala has a Calgary company basking in the afterglow. That’s because Beattie Homes (Edm) Inc. is an offshoot of Calgary’s Beattie Homes, a company that looked north in 2004 and followed the highway of opportunity by launching an Edmonton operation.

In its first year of business in the provincial capital, Beattie Homes (Edm) won the Ralph Scurfield Memorial Award for its Countryside I estate bungalow. That award is the top honour presented at the annual Awards of Excellence in Housing competition hosted by the Alberta Home Builders’ Association (AHBA).

Awards chair Joy Van Marck of the New Home Buyers’ Guide, Edmonton, says the award means the Countryside I has earned the right to call itself the best home in Alberta for 2004. The same model also finished first in the single- family home category for homes between 1,751 and 2,000 sq. ft.

The competition attracted 240 entries from all over Alberta. That’s a record and “a good indication of the vibrant housing market we’re experiencing right now,” says Van Marck.

Photos courtesy of Beattie Homes
Countryside I estate bungalow stands out with its 8-ft. doors and lavish finishing (not to mention its $679,800 tag).

“I built this one as if I was going to be living in it,” says Len Pick, Beattie’s GM for Edmonton. A longtime custom-home builder in the Edmonton area, Pick joined Beattie Homes this past year. He and Bill Beattie, CEO and president, have a long-lasting friendship – and share a commitment to quality new-home construction.

The Countryside I, located just west of Edmonton in Countryside Ravines, brims with what Pick calls the “wow” factor.

A single bedroom, walk-out bungalow on half an acre of land, the award-winning showhome features a formal dining room and den and finishing details that include custom baseboards, eight-foot doors, numerous plant ledges and faux finishes. The home, which has been open about a year, is now on the market for $679,800 (plus GST), with a spring possession date.

Pick says the win boosts Beattie Homes’ profile in a new market. The company is already in five Edmonton subdivisions and Pick expects that to hit 10 over the next two or three years. The win “couldn’t have been better in terms of timing.”

Interestingly enough, the Countryside I is a revised version of Beattie’s Eagleview III. That home, first built in Calgary, won the Ralph Scurfield Memorial Award a few years ago, says Bill Beattie, who started his original company in 1983.



“I think we started our first year with nine sales,” recalls Beattie, whose company currently builds about 325 single-family homes a year in Calgary. It is also involved in three villa-style projects, including one in the north-west community of Kincora.

At the recent awards gala, held in Jasper the last weekend of September, Beattie’s Chancellor II, an executive-style villa, also won an AHBA award. This third honour was in the category for multi-family homes under 1,350 sq. ft.

With 40 per cent of Calgary’s affordable new housing sales in the multi-family market, Beattie’s expansion beyond single- family homes makes good business sense, says Beattie. This year, the company also kick-started a three-storey apartment complex, the Bay Club, that overlooks Chestermere Lake.

In addition to the Countryside I’s first-place finish in the Scurfield competition, another Beattie Home placed second. Shane Homes of Calgary was another finalist.

Jayman Master Builder of Calgary also brought home more than one award. The company won the Innovation Award for its two-storey home, the St. Germain, and finished first with the Ashbee in the multi-family category for homes 1,351-3,000 sq. ft.

Christenson Developments of Edmonton earned first-place finishes for the Connelly, in the single-family home category for floor plans 2,000-2,500 sq. ft. and for Devonshire Village in the multi-family class, overall complex.

Bowood Custom Homes and Renovations of central Alberta won in a renovation category (under $75,000) and took home an award in the customer -choice category for single-family homes.

This was the second year the Alberta Customer Choice Awards were presented. Founded and operated by the Alberta New Home Warranty Program, these awards gauge the relationship between individual builders and their customers.

The awards were part of the AHBA’s annual Building with Pride conference, held in Jasper each year.

More than 600 delegates attended this year’s conference, which featured the first-ever R-2000 Award. It was won by a Grande Prairie-based company, Cardon Homes.

Web watch:
www.ahba.ca

(Joy Gregory can be reached at joy@businessedge.ca)