Aurora, Ont., golf course set to become a luxury housing community

Theglobeandmail.com
Aug. 24, 2017
By Sydnia Yu

What once was a golf destination in downtown Aurora will become a residential one, where homeowners can putter around their private backyards and open parkland.

Closed a few years ago, the former 18-hole course - stretching between Yonge and Bathurst Streets, just south of Wellington Street East - will be replaced by 159 luxury residences on 52- and 61-foot lots.

"It's the redevelopment of the Highland Gate golf course, so it's beautiful and very maturely treed since you're buying into an established community that's 20 years old already," Geranium sales and marketing manager Stephanie Lane says.

"We've decided to take the approach of building homes that would enhance the existing community, so as opposed to going in and building townhomes - even for over 100 acres of land - we're only building and developing 159 homes, so over half of the site is being left as green space."

A kid's play area or water feature may be added to the infill site, which will also host a large central park and ponds.

"There will be a number of trails that will go throughout the site, whether it's through the park, on the road or behind some of the homes," Ms. Lane adds.

"[Plus] you've got 60-foot evergreen trees that some of these homes will be fronting onto or backing onto."

Outdoor recreation can also be found nearby at Lake Wilcox Park and multiple golf courses, while urban conveniences encompass schools, shops, restaurants and cinemas. GO Transit and Highways 400 and 404 are easily accessible as well.

"People like the maturity of the site and the location to the amenities being right downtown Aurora," Ms. Lane notes. "Very few areas these days can buy 50 and 60-foot lots within an existing community."

Keeping in line with the size and scope of neighbouring homes, these bungalow lofts and two-storey designs will offer three to five bedrooms with private or shared bathrooms, plus two- or three-car garages.

"We've had a lot of people who've been living in the community for a long time coming in and exploring the option of upgrading," Ms. Lane explains.

All 13 plans will offer Ontario country and English manor façades, as well as beaux-arts elevations for a slightly different look. Exterior highlights will include front porches and up to 16-foot-wide sliding doors to covered loggias.

"It really brings the outside in and creates an effortless flow from interior to exterior living space," Ms. Lane states.

Since sales began late summer, buyers could customize or add optional features, such as elevators, dog-wash area and wet bars. However, Bryon Patton and Associates Ltd. ensured plans will generally offer lavish master retreats, libraries, formal dining areas and eat-in kitchens overlooking great rooms with porcelain tile or oak hardwood floors, granite counters and Sub-Zero/Wolf appliances.

Notable green features range from high-efficiency heat-recovery ventilators to water-saving showerheads and toilets.

"We've got 10-foot ceilings and most of the homes [nearby] are eight- or nine-foot," Ms. Lane explains. "And you've got the advantages of new and more open entertaining spaces, but still provide the privacy and private spaces people want."

Occupancy will begin May, 2019.