Natura to offer parkside residency
Michael Bernard
The Province
Bruno Jury isn’t your garden-variety developer. His mission encompasses much more than building homes to put up for sale. He says he wants create happy places where the residents not only spend more time getting to know each other, but also look outwards to making their environment a better place.
And to do that, Jury, a Mexican attracted to Vancouver eight years ago by the city’s goal of becoming the greenest place on the planet, is using his first development — the 73-unit Natura, which overlooks Abbotsford’s Horn Creek Park— to put his mission in motion.
“We’re not selling condos, we are selling a lifestyle that everyone can identify with. I am not really selling you a particular unit, I am selling you a community that you will be happy to live in.”
One of Jury’s prime goals is to get Natura homeowners – many of them downsizers — to take ownership of the 3.3-acre Horn Creek Park that surrounds the development on three sides.
“These are people who are retired and have free time. Why not organize them and make them feel proud of the park? I’ve already been in contact with the Fraser Valley Conservancy, an organization that takes care of green spaces in the valley. They want to provide tours for kids to learn about the kinds of plants that grow in the forests and to keep the park clean.”
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Greg Lowe, whose firm rareEarth Project Marketing Ltd. is selling the homes at Natura, said the development has been designed to take full advantage of the park view, but also to encourage interaction among homeowners. “As you come in the front lobby, you look through an interactive lounge area to see the park,” he said. “The lobby opens on to a lounge with comfortable seating where people can share workspace, as well as meet at a coffee bar.”
Outside the indoor lobby/lounge will be a terrace with firepits, loungers and a gazebo with eating tables. Similar interactive space has been created upstairs on the fifth floor, where the “sky lounge” will be built.
Jury, who is also a strong advocate of green technology, is proud that the development being built by his partner, Kerkhoff Construction, is also adopting Step Code Level 3, an accelerated program for upgrading building standards designed to achieve a 50-per-cent increase in efficiency.
Inside, all homes will have nine-foot-high ceilings with the level-five penthouses having 14-foot ceilings in the living and dining rooms.
Kitchens feature a dining peninsula or island topped with durable quartz stone and porcelain tile backsplashes. Buyers can choose a KitchenAid package with a 30-inch or 36-inch refrigerator with ice dispenser, a stainless steel range with induction cooktop, a Faber stainless steel slide-out fan and a stainless steel dishwasher or an optional package is by Fisher & Paykel.
The ensuite bathroom has quartz countertops and vanities with dual sinks in select homes. It is also equipped with a frameless 10-mm glass shower, while the main bathroom has a shower and tub combination with porcelain tile surround.
Natura
What: 73 one-, two- and three-bedroom homes in a five-storey wood-frame building overlooking Horn Creek Park
Where: 3182 Gladwin, Abbotsford
Residence size and prices: Starting at $259,900 for homes ranging from 444 to 1,458 square feet
Developer: Naturbana Properties and Kerkhoff Construction
Sales centre: 33338 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford
Sales phone: 604-776-4588
Hours: noon — 5 p.m., Mon — Sat
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