Published in Kelowna Capital News
Sunday, March 14, 2010

Developers dream now award winning reality

Carlos Bermudez, president and general manager of the Village of Kettle Valley talks about his growing development in south Kelowna.

By Shauna Nyrose, CONTRIBUTOR

Scenic view at night overlooking Okanagan Lake and the largest of the eight parks within the Kettle Valley development.

Explain the history of The Village of Kettle Valley.  How it has come to be what it is today?

The Village of Kettle Valley was conceived about 10 years ago as Kelowna’s first, and to this day only, true neo-traditional community. Although the term “neo-traditional” is often used to describe communities with a certain architectural style, in reality the term implies significantly more.  A neo-traditional community is premised on the idea that a richer living experience can be created by offering residents the ability to walk to many of the amenities they enjoy and services they require. To this end, the Village of Kettle Valley has been designed to include a charming mixed-use residential and commercial Village Centre, 8 beautiful parks, a large play scape with waterpark, more than 40 acres of natural green space, and the newly opened Chute Lake Elementary School.

What are some of the reasons that families have chosen to live in Kettle Valley over other neighborhoods in Kelowna?

Regardless of whether people have grown up here or relocated from elsewhere, people in Kelowna share a common appreciation for the outdoors and for quality time spent with family and friends. The Village of Kettle Valley makes it easier for people to enjoy these things because of the abundance of natural green spaces and the convenience of having a Village Centre and the brand new Chute Lake Elementary school located within a short walking distance. When you combine this with attractive streetscapes, a safe living environment, and high-quality home construction, you create a value proposition that is very difficult to match. It really is an ideal Okanagan neighborhood; clean and green, with stunning views of the lake and mountains.

Detail the awards that the community has won.  What is their significance?  What does this mean to residents of Kettle Valley?

Our community is very proud of the fact that by winning a Tommie (CHBA* Okanagan), Georgie (CHBA BC), and SAM (CHBA Calgary) award for Best Community, we are the only residential development in Kelowna to be recognized as such at the regional, provincial, and national level.  The Village of Kettle Valley was also recognized as one of two runner-ups for the Gold Nugget award, which recognizes excellence in real estate development at the international level and draws nominees from countries including Australia, Japan, and the United States.

Although these accolades are a source of pride for all of us, the greatest satisfaction comes from knowing that we are creating a community where people are consistently choosing to live, raise their families, and spend their retirement years.

*CHBA- Canadian Home Builders Association

How many homes are in the community today and how many do you expect?

The Village of Kettle Valley currently includes approximately 500 homes, consisting of about 425 single-family homes and 75 multi-family homes. Although we do not have a final count at this time, we know that upon completion our community will contain approximately 1,000 homes, 75% of which will be single-family homes. We think this size is nearly ideal because it is large enough to create diversity and the critical mass necessary to provide the various amenities and services planned, yet small enough to create a strong sense of community.

Showhome by Rykon, one of the select builders for the Village of Kettle Valley

Who are the key building partners?

Every home in The Village of Kettle Valley must be built by one of our existing Select Builders. This requirement is in place to assure that each home meets our community’s standards in terms of both construction and architectural quality.  This is important not only to maintain the aesthetic appeal of our community but also to promote property values for our existing residents.

Our current list of Select Builders includes Kentland Homes, Rykon Construction, Pars Construction, Rockwood Homes, Harmony Homes, Edgecombe Builders, RLJ Homes, and Vintage Design.  With so many top- quality homebuilders to choose from, the Village of Kettle Valley buyers have the variety and selection they need in order to find the builder that is the best fit for them.

For someone looking to buy in the Village of Kettle Valley, what’s currently available?

Someone interested in making the Village of Kettle Valley their home can purchase a home site and build their custom home through one of our Select Builders or purchase a completed home from our Select Builders’ standing inventory of new homes.

Although our available inventory of home sites varies over time, our current inventory is especially attractive because we have just released our latest subdivision, The Pointe at Kettle Valley. This spectacular new hillside subdivision contains larger home sites, many of which are suitable for three car garages and swimming pools. Many of these home sites also contain breathtaking panoramic views of Okanagan Lake.  Furthermore, all remaining homesites in our prior subdivision, The Crossing at Kettle Valley, are currently being discounted resulting in a great opportunity to purchase in our community at a value conscious price.

For those preferring to purchase an existing new home, our Select Builders currently have approximately 12 completed new homes listed for sale and ready for occupancy. These beautiful homes vary in style from walkout ranchers to large two-story homes, and vary in price from about $650,000 to over $2,000,000.

I strongly encourage anyone considering a move to come visit us to learn more about our terrific selection of home sites and new homes, as well as to learn more about the exciting changes taking place in our development.

What do you plan to bring to market in the future?

Once we approach sell out of The Pointe at Kettle Valley, we will turn our attention to one of our two remaining undeveloped subdivisions. Because the timing for the launch of either of these remaining subdivisions is in large part a function of how quickly our existing inventory of home sites sell, it is difficult to predict when these home sites will be brought to market. Having said that,very strong recent sales activity in our community has been very encouraging and gives us reason to think that it may be sooner than we had previously expected.

Can we expect to see any other changes in the Village of Kettle Valley over the next 12 months?

The Village Centre will likely see the addition of 21 new townhomes and added commercial space/ amenities.

Although launching The Pointe at Kettle Valley is the most significant event occurring in 2010, there are a few other very exciting projects that we hope to initiate and/or complete this year.  Our Village Centre will likely see construction begin on 21 new townhouses as well as approximately 15,000 square feet of additional commercial space. These projects will add significant vibrancy to our Village Centre and expand on the list of amenities and services offered within walking distance. Although tenants for the new commercial space have not been finalized, every effort is being made to attract a grocery store, coffee shop, beauty salon and other high demand commercial offerings. Other changes that we expect to see in 2010 include completion of another park and completion of the median along Chute Lake Road and South Perimeter. These two projects will further beautify our already impressive streetscapes.

And finally, what has been the most rewarding part of being involved in the development of this award winning community?When it is all said and done, our goal is to create a community where people want to live because they appreciate the aesthetic quality of our community and because we offer a living experience that is consistent with their quality of life priorities. When we get a purchaser who has been referred by an existing resident or see a current resident move to another home still within the Village of Kettle Valley, it is especially rewarding because it indicates to us that we are succeeding in creating a community that is, as expressed by our slogan, “Where you want to live…How you want to live.”

Are you thinking about moving to Kettle Valley?  Call Kettle Valley neighborhood specialist (and resident) Darcy Nyrose at Kelowna Real Estate Pros, 250-575-1946