Pie-shaped backyard perfect place for kids, dog to play at new Oxford home
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It’s not the first home Christy Berrington has built from scratch and it might not be the last, but it’s 100 per cent her own and the most meaningful.
Recently divorced with a six- and an eight-year-old, Berrington took possession of her two-storey house by Trico Homes in early March. Life is more chaotic than usual, what with unpacking and adjusting to life without a job or school for the kids, for the time being. But she and her family are safe in their home.
Berrington purchased Trico’s Oxford model, a 1,943-square-foot front drive home backing onto a park in Belmont in the far reaches of the city’s southwest.
“I chose this community because it’s close to the new ring road and my kids go to school in Aspen. There’s no school bus so I have to drive them,” she says.
After living in the inner city, Berrington found the prices in Belmont to be very affordable for the type of family home she wanted to build. Trico’s three-bedroom Oxford, with a base price of $435,000 was a great starting point. With no show home for the Oxford in Belmont, she and Trico area sales manager Shawna Christensen drove to see one in Wolf Willow over in the southeast.
“I walked in and said, this is the house,” she says.
Berrington took the basic plan and made it her own with a shopping list of upgrades. In the kitchen, she changed the appliances, added roll-out drawers in the lower cabinets and a pantry wall. She added storage lockers in the mudroom, a gas fireplace in the living room and a sliding barn door for the half bath on the main floor. On the second floor, she wanted vaulted ceilings in the bonus room and a full walk-in tiled shower in the master ensuite. She didn’t finish the basement, but with future development in mind, she bumped the ceiling height to nine feet and upgraded to a dual zone furnace to heat the basement separately from the rest of the house.
Christensen says buyers can also choose floor plan options for the Oxford to increase the home to 2,109 square feet. The bonus room can be moved from the front to the centre of the second floor, and the laundry can be switched from a closet to a room of its own.
Berrington chose a pie-shaped lot with a big backyard for her dog, Fletcher. She’s also purchased bikes for her kids and is excited about getting out to use Belmont’s network of trails.
Anthem United launched Belmont in April of 2018, a family-oriented community with room for 7,000 people. It’s west of Macleod Trail and south of Silverado, accessible by 194th Avenue S.W., 210th Avenue S.W. and Sheriff King Street.
Homes by Avi, Cedarglen Homes, Shane Homes and Trico are building front-drive garage models in Belmont with prices starting in the low $400,000s. Phase 1 and 2 are now selling in the community, with up to half of the available lots backing onto green space.
Christensen says construction continues in Belmont with a modified schedule to ensure the safety of their trades. Trico’s show home is open regular hours with only four people allowed inside at one time. Appointments are welcome.
It’s a friendly, old-school neighbourhood, Berrington says, where everybody knows everybody.
“Already, in the first two weeks, we all say hi when we’re standing in our driveways, even on lock down. Even people several doors down who I’ve never met,” Berrington says.
THE DETAILS
COMMUNITY: Belmont
DEVELOPER: Anthem United
BUILDER: Trico Homes
MODEL: The Oxford
SIZE: 1,943 square feet, three-bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, upstairs bonus room.
PRICE: From $435,000 GST included.
INFORMATION: Regular show home hours in effect with limited visitors. Appointments are welcome. Visit tricohomes.com.
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