Myriad options on offer at Miracon’s Westside
Shawn Conner
The Vancouver Sun
Project name: Westside at Orchard Grove
Project location: 16422 26th Ave., South Surrey
Project size: 53 single-family detached homes
Residence size: 2,667 — 3,719 square feet
Price: starting from $1.198,000, including tax
Developer: Miracon
Architectural design: Tynan Designs
Interior design: In House ID
Website: miracon.ca/westside
Sales centre: 16422 26th Ave., South Surrey
Contact: Jas Rai or Heather McClean
Phone: 604-716-4501 or 604-992-3349
Hours: noon — 5 p.m., Sat — Thurs
Completion date: move-in ready, spring or summer 2017
A new single-family home in South Surrey is pretty much exactly what Chad Clifford and his wife were looking for when they spotted the building site for Westside at Orchard Grove this past summer.
“My wife and I were looking in the area,” said Clifford, who is co-founder of Drive Basketball, a basketball academy in Richmond.
“We saw that that development was going up, and when they started having their open houses, we were really impressed with the quality of the product, the design. And we love the area and how it’s developing. To have a place come up that’s brand new in the area we already live in, we wanted to take advantage of that.”
Westside at Orchard Grove is a development of 53 detached homes. The majority of the homes are either the Orchard or Signature Series; there are only two in the largest floor plan — at 4,282 square feet — called the Estate Series.
The Cliffords bought one of the Orchard Grove Series of homes. Ranging from 2,667 to 2,878 square feet in size, the four-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom homes are the smallest of the three types. They’re ideal for what Michelle Boshard, vice-president of project marketing for Frontline Real Estate Services, calls “move-up buyers,” young families like the Cliffords who want more space. (Chad and his wife Shandyce are in their early-to-mid-thirties, with a three-month-old boy, and currently living in a townhome.)
According to Boshard, the Signature Series is attracting interest from downsizers who want smaller homes and less lawn to maintain, but don’t want to give up too much space. At 3,719 square feet, these homes are larger, with four bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms.
The floor plans in all the homes are open concept, with 10-foot-high ceilings (they’re nearly 18 feet high in the vaulted ceilings of the two Estate homes) and have marble-slab fireplaces in the great rooms. as well as oversized windows and doors. Kitchen islands feature soft-close cabinetry and, in the Signature Series, a built-in wine cooler. The kitchens have quartzite counters with full height custom backsplashes. The standard Jenn-Air appliance package includes a french door refrigerator, a “tall-tub” dishwasher, and a gas range or cooktop/wall oven.
All homes have powder rooms and dens on the main floor, and covered decks with quick connect bibs for an outdoor barbecue. Another feature of the covered deck, and of the master bedroom and great room, are built-in ceiling speakers.
The homes come in three colour schemes; “earth”, “air”, and “water,” in the developer’s parlance. They vary in light and dark earth tones.
Master bedrooms are large enough to accommodate a king-sized bed. Staircases have glass railings. Ensuite bathrooms have double undermount sinks, oversized porcelain floor tiles, glassed-in showers, and (in the Signature Series) free-standing soaker tubs. Basements have their own outside entrances; as an option, Miracon, the developer, also offers a legal suite or a finished bar (including dishwasher, quartz counters, undermount sink, and beverage cooler).
The Cliffords chose the former.
“We want to potentially sell it in the future, and we’ll be able to rent it as well,” Clifford said. “We had the option of making it a two-bedroom or a one-bedroom rental suite, and then just having a bigger living area. We went that route, to have a bigger open space downstairs.”
Besides their size, Orchard Grove Series homes are also distinguished by his-and-hers walk-in closets off the master bedroom and a walk-in laundry room on the second floor. (The laundry room is located on the main floor in the other homes).
The main floor of the Signature Series includes a pantry, a laundry room with a built-in cubby, and a den large enough to be used as a separate dining or a TV viewing room. Second-floor features include a linen closet, and a loft that faces out over the great room. A notable detail is the coffered ceiling in the master bedroom.
Upgrades and options are plentiful in both series. The Clifford chose a deluxe appliance package (an upgrade from Jenn-Air to Thermador), among other things.
“There are pages and pages of upgrades, things like LED lighting,” Clifford said. Other options include hardwood flooring on the stairs, ceiling speakers in other parts of the home, and more. He left much of that decision-making to his wife. Besides the high ceilings, the six-foot-four Clifford says he and his wife were attracted to open-concept design, the “beautiful” master bedroom with two walk-in closets, and the spa-inspired ensuite with its walk-in shower and double vanity.
Exterior-wise, the homes are what the developer calls a “West Coast-inspired” design, which includes stone detailing and oversized front entrances.
Orchard Grove itself is part of a new community plan for South Surrey that, when complete, will include oversized sidewalks and landscape corridors and dedicated green spaces. The neighbourhood is near amenities such as the state-of-the-art Grandview Height Aquatic Centre and, for shopping, Morgan Crossing, Grandview Corners, and more. A number of schools are in the area as well. Langley and the White Rock waterfront are each about 10 minutes away by car, Richmond/YVR about 30 minutes.
The presentation centre and show homes opened in mid-October. Thirty-three homes are either complete or near completion; the ground has been broken for the final 20. Some homes are move-in ready now with completions through until 2017. As of earlier this week, 15 had been sold.
Clifford is looking forward to moving into his new home. Asked if he’s found a spot to put up a hoop, the former university basketball player said: “I’m hoping. We have a corner lot, so I’m hoping that will be a big enough backyard space to put something up.”
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