By: Kenneth Brown of The Clarion

The early workings of the new residen­tial subdivision are starting to take shape in the southeast corner of Kindersley as new housing is being erected in Brookhol­low Estates.

Groundwork for the Brookhollow Es­tates subdivision began in the fall of 2013. Deep services, sidewalk, curb and gutter, and other roadwork has been completed, but now housing has started to go up in the town’s newest subdivision.

Bill Larocque, the broker at Royal LeP­age Wheat Country Realty, is acting as agent for developer Marathon Properties Corp., and he said the Brookhollow project is going well. The spokesperson said he has been getting several inquires from people about the project and he has heard people are driving by the entrance to the subdivi­sion to check it out. They would now see housing in progress.

“Four houses are started,” he said, not­ing that the initial four houses should be completed by the early to middle part of the spring and one of the homes will be a display home. “There’s eight houses there scheduled to be built. Those first eight lots are sold.”

He noted that as agent for the developer, all of the lot and housing sales are being listed through Wheat Country Realty. How­ever, the properties are part of the multiple listing sales (MLS) listings, so interested homeowners could use any realtor by going through the MLS listings.

Larocque said people want to know what is going on with the subdivision, so it is good to see. It was explained that the first eight single dwelling lots are the first eight lots along the north side of Brookhollow Boulevard. The initial eight houses are be­ing erected by E & L Building Contractors.

The developer and a partner, Excelsior Quality Builders Ltd., secured financing through the HeadStart on a Home program for the initial 24 units of a 70-unit town­house project in the subdivision known as Clark Place. The first townhouse structure with six units has been completed and the builder, Grandeur Housing Ltd., is now working on the second structure to add an­other six units.

Marathon Properties is starting with the first phase of the Brookhollow Estates proj­ect, a phase that includes areas of the sub­division closest to the Motherwell Reservoir on the south side of the project area. Deep services, sidewalk, curb and gutter, and roadwork has been completed for approxi­mately half of the first phase, Larocque said.

 The aforementioned infrastructure has been installed along Brookhollow Boule­vard, the street that connects to West Road. Infrastructure has been installed on Clark Drive and down Brookhollow Boulevard to Dobni Link, but work has also been com­pleted on parts of Cooper Way and also for Clark Place.

According to the spokesperson, the cur­rent housing completed and in progress is all being built first and sold to end buyers later. While a display house could be ready by April, there is already a display unit in the initial townhouse structure.

Larocque said the builders have been great to work with and the townhouse build­er has been making any changes the realtor and developer require. One unit that would not change is the one already occupied by an owner, he said, the first resident in that area. It was pointed out that first-time ho­meowners pay zero per cent down for the townhouse units.

He noted that people could also purchase lots in the subdivision and make arrange­ments to have their homes built by a hous­ing contractor of their choosing, so all the normal real estate options are in plan. Pav­ing would commence as soon as the ground thaws in the spring.

“As soon as the frost gets out of the ground, we’ll be paving,” he said, noting that the other infrastructure such as pow­er and natural gas has been installed. “As soon as we can get in there to do paving, it’s going to be done.”

The developer and its partners have faced challenges with weather, but it had an impact on some of the deep service and concrete work in the fall of 2014. However, new asphalt is going to help complete about half of the subdivision’s first phase.

Townhouses come in two-bedroom and three-bedroom units, but the units are iden­tical apart from the layout of the second floor in the three-bedroom units. Larocque said all of the townhouses are two-storey buildings with a basement. The plans for all of the housing are available to view at the realtor’s office.

It was recognized by the agent that all of the firms involved in the early stages of the subdivision have worked hard to get the project to its current point. The new subdivision has come about in a different way for the Town of Kindersley. As opposed to the town being the developer, a request for proposals (RFP) was issued by the town to secure a developer to develop the proj­ect.

Larocque said it is a new way of doing things for him as a realtor in Kindersley, but everyone is learning as the project moves along. He added that project officials are excited for the future of Brookhollow Estates, but deep services and other infrastructure are going to be installed for the rest of the first phase in the 2015 con­struction season.

John Enns-Wind, the mayor of Kindersley, said it is great to see housing going up in the new subdivision. He said it is early in the process, but it is a start. Hous­ing is a main barrier to economic development in the Town of Kindersley, so it is nice to see housing in the subdivision. He congratulated officials for the project.

“We have to keep working it and we are continuing to work it,” he said, adding the town still needs more affordable and attainable housing such as more rental units. “For all the progress that they’ve made, I want to congratulate (Marathon Properties) and Mr. Larocque for the work that they’ve done.”

Link to article from source, The Clarion.

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