The Construction Source

Damien personally acquired a builder’s license in BC and he recruited an expert building team, headed by Construction Manager Mike Franczak, who has more than 20 years’ expe- rience in the region. Together, they have since commenced work in-house on Nature’s Gate, a community of 23 townhomes situated at the entryway to Tal- lus Ridge. They have also built several spec homes, as well as an expansive show-home that was just shy of 5,000 square feet. According to Damien, the re- sponse to those projects from buyers and investors has been uniformly positive. Sales have even exceeded his predictions, with the pandemic barely slow- ing them down. Damien credits that reaction to a few key factors. Mostly, he says people are responding to the specialness of the commu- nity. For example, Damien says re- ceived a lot of positive feed- back about the “connection to nature” it offers. As part of that connection, the community in- cludes multiple parks rich with green space, along with kilome- tres of marked and unmarked trails for hiking and biking. “We have either dedicated, pro- tected, or created community amenity parks to over 50 per cent of our total land area,” he says. “This is unmatched in the Okanagan and with each phase the green area continues to grow.” So residents feel like they are “living in nature,” he says, but at the same time, the urban amenities of the city are only a short drive away. Downtown Kelowna is within 20 minutes, the beach is within 10 minutes, elementary, middle, and sec- ondary schools are within 10 minutes, and there’s a movie theatre, grocery stores, restau- rants, boutique shopping with- in only five minutes. Even closer is the Shannon Lake Golf Club – which is a 6,294 yard course set against towering pines with moderate elevations, with a signature hole played along the beautiful Shannon Lake. “Everything is at your doorstep,” Damien says. “You have large properties and natural spaces, but urban amenities are only a step away.” OCTOBER 2020