We give you a sneak peek at what’s coming soon to Bayview and Bayside.
With the New Year just around the corner, we thought we’d take the opportunity to share some of the new things we’ll be bringing to Genesis Land communities in 2023. Here, Peter Jensen, Senior Development Manager at Genesis Land, shines a light on what to expect from the latest phases of construction currently underway in two of our Airdrie communities—Bayview Phase 4 and Bayside Phase 14.
New options in Bayview
Located just north of Bayview’s eight-acre school site, Bayview Phase 4 is poised to bring 120 new homesites to the already thriving community.
“There’s going to be a mix of housing on offer,” says Jensen, “from front-attached and laned homes to a multi-family site.”
The phase will also be adding two rows of something called “zero lot line” homes to the mix. Typically, Jensen explains, new community homes in Airdrie and Calgary are separated by 1.2 metres on either side of their lot lines, creating a 2.4 m gap—or side yard—on either side of their lot lines. But with a zero lot line, the house is shifted and the side yard is eliminated so the gap between each home comes down to 1.5 m. This scenario is repeated down the block, so nothing looks out of balance.
“What a zero lot line offers is greater affordability on the land component,” says Jensen. “A slightly narrower lot can support the same size of home as a conventional lot, but since the lot is narrower, there is some cost savings for the buyer.”
Bayview Phase 4 will also feature a row of wide-laned lots, which can support rear carriage suites (i.e. fully serviced bedroom suites built over a detached garage).
“We worked with the City of Airdrie and were able to amend the land use for these lots, such that a garage suite is a permitted use, as opposed to discretionary,” says Jensen. “This means a buyer can purchase a home now, with certainty that they can construct a garage suite in the future without risk of rejection of their development permit by Airdrie City Council.”
Exciting additions to Bayside
Just like in Bayview Phase 4, the newest phase of Bayside, Bayside 14, will feature a row of wider-laned lots (for carriage suites). But that’s not all. Phase 14 will bring 108 new home suites to Bayside, as well as the completion of a much-needed transportation connection through the community.
“Bayside Boulevard, which is essentially the main connector road through Bayside, will be completed and paved in this phase,” says Jensen. “This roadway is the main spine through the neighbourhood, and the final leg will allow residents full access from 8th Street to Yankee Valley Boulevard.”
The completion of Bayside Boulevard, adds Jensen, will be a huge time-saver for residents, as it will shorten trips to commercial services and to Airdrie’s downtown area while also relieving some of the congestion around Nose Creek School.
While this completed roadway is an undeniable highlight of Bayside 14, Jensen is especially excited about another new feature the phase will be bringing to the community.
“The heart of Bayside 14 is a new park that we’ve tailored toward older kids and younger teens,” he says. The park will include a paved pump track for biking enthusiasts, as well as an activity area with FitCore equipment and structures for developing agility and strength. “There will also be some picnic tables and benches for watching the action,” Jensen adds.
This space will be a nice complement to the play areas already in place for toddlers and younger kids. Construction of the pump track will begin next year, with an estimated completion date of late summer or early fall 2023, weather permitting.
“The winter does shut us down for certain things,” says Jensen. “That’s why, in this last quarter of 2022, we’re doing all we can to chase the weather and get things like paving and sidewalks down in these new phases.”
Finding warmth through light
While the chill of winter does bring about restrictions when it comes to development, the shorter, darker days do have a few bright sides. For example, they allow for the Gemstone lighting on our Bayside and Bayview showhomes to really shine.
Gemstone lights are customizable, permanent exterior lights that bring a warm, welcoming ambiance to homes at night. Unlike conventional outdoor pot lights or seasonal string lights, Gemstones are low-profile and nearly invisible until they’re on—and they come with hundreds of pre-set colour sequencing patterns for every holiday and occasion.
“We’ve started using them in place of string lights because of their reliability and versatility,” says Jensen. “We like that the installation was permanent and that we could easily change the lighting colours and schemes to suit the season. Before Gemstones, we were removing and replacing hundreds of dollars’ worth of string lights every year in our showhome parades.”
The Gemstone lighting system is controlled by an app, and options are easily customized. “We have four different showhomes in Bayside, and each has different Christmas-themed patterns,” says Jensen. “It really helps set our homes apart.”
Find out more about the latest phases in Bayside and Bayview.
