What goes into bringing on a new community?

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They’re new, big and seem to appear overnight.

But there’s a lot more to Edmonton’s newer residential communities than what first meets the eye. You see the newly paved streets, the show homes, the single-family, duplex or townhomes under construction, and they capture your attention.

But that’s just one part of a story that began decades earlier when that same land was probably an empty field on what was likely then the outskirts of the city. For example, the decision to create the award-winning residential community of Lake Summerside, with a beach and man-made lake, came long before the southwest spot launched in 2001, and long before the southwest would turn out to be one of the most in-demand city quadrants to own a home.

So just how does a modern-day counterpart of Lake Summerside come about? Who decides what these new neighbourhoods will be like or where they will go?

To answer those questions, Postmedia talked to two of Edmonton’s residential developers, Brookfield Residential, Lake Summerside’s developer, and Cantiro, as well as Building Industry and Land Development Edmonton Metro, the voice of the local residential development industry.

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Planning 101

By the time the homebuyer first visits a new community, that new development has already matured so to speak — even if its life cycle will take another 10-plus years before all its homes are built.

“For the lay person it looks like it happens overnight, except that is like the last five to 10 per cent,” said BILD Edmonton Metro CEO Kalen Anderson.

Before that, said Anderson, it’s all about consulting Edmonton’s Area Structure Plan and Neighbourhood Structure Plan, which dictate where future development will be located and how it will be staged. Decisions will also include factoring in where school boards intend to build new schools, where hospitals might be built and what provincial or municipal transportation routes are being contemplated for these yet to be constructed areas.

“It’s the developer who then makes it come to life,” said Anderson, noting developers play a key part in growing the city.

And properly growing the city is important, added Anderson as she points out there’s already a plan in place to deal with greater Edmonton expecting to hit a population of two million. Further, said Anderson, it would not be unexpected for the Edmonton metropolitan region to eventually reach three million residents.

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Risk and Opportunity

Cantiro, whose communities include The Hills at Charlesworth (southeast), One at Keswick and One at Windermere (both southwest), takes into account the factors Anderson mentioned and others, like finding the right pieces of land and determining how to innovate to make that community attractive before deciding when and where to move forward.

While it’s reasonably easy to predict demand a few years out, or to fill in an undeveloped pocket in an existing area, it’s not as easy to predict it decades ahead. But Cantiro’s Jodie Wacko, the company’s COO, said it can be done and done right.

“Planning is just that, planning for the future so you’re ready to execute,” said Wacko, adding it’s just as important to be ready to pivot. What you based a decision on years back, he said, may need to be changed to adjust to current market conditions, changing demographics, and changing demands for what homebuyers want in their homes. “You’re in a constant state of adaption,” said Wacko, noting there is both risk and opportunity.

Further, said Brookfield’s Mike Kohl, senior vice-president Alberta communities, land and housing development, is that you may have to take chances and obtain land that might not be where the city envisions its future. You also have to combine that with where the people want to live, he said.

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As to how to turn that land into an enticing community, Kohl said all developers go through a similar process of looking at the land in question, its typography and feel, and work off of that to create a neighbourhood people will want to call home. It’s about enhancing the area’s features and differentiating from the competition.

Chappelle Gardens in the southwest, said Kohl, is an example of how Brookfield did this by adding unique features like its Social House, where residents can access social and recreational amenities, both outdoor and indoor, catering to all interests and ages, or including a bee pollinator pathway, which helps the local plant life in Chappelle flourish.

But while the vision is to enhance, it’s not the only part of the design plan.

“Some of it is also informed by who you think is going to live in the community,” said Kohl. “You have to think about not only who is living in your communities now but also who is going to be living in your communities in the future, and what’s important to them from their sense of community.”

Coming Soon

Tomorrow’s Glenora or Riverbend could be Alces or Riverstead at Keswick, the latter a new riverside development in the southwest.

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These two new Cantiro communities will be coming onto the market later this year. Alces, in the southeast, is next to Cantiro’s successful Hills at Charlesworth, which is now selling its final new homes after launching in 2016. Land for Alces, however, was assembled at the same time the land for Charlesworth was put together but planning for Alces only started three years ago.

“You secure the opportunity and start to work on parts of it,” said Wakco, noting you always keep a thought on about the rest of it.

A bit further down the line, Brookfield is looking to Decoteau, also in the southeast and not far from Alces. To give a more accurate idea of how long it takes to bring some new communities to life, consider that authority to prepare Decoteau’s Area Structure Plan was granted by Edmonton city council in 2010 for the 1,960 hectares, but it wasn’t until 2015 that the plan was adopted.

“There’s been some development there but really things are going to be starting up over the next several years,” said Kohl, noting Brookfield has land in the area. “This is the time when developers are looking to assemble that land and within the next few years developing that vision, and that development strategy, to bring all those plans to life.”

Building The Best

Greater Edmonton’s new communities are some of the best in Canada. Beaumont’s Elan, Blatchford on the old municipal airport site, and the Village at Griesbach on a former Canadian Forces base, were selected as Canada’s Best New Community in 2024, 2023 and 2021, respectively, by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association National Awards for Housing Excellence.

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