Natura's parkside homes designed with community in mind
Credit to Author: Barbara Gunn| Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2019 13:11:16 +0000
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. Our motto is we build happy homes, and we mean it. I cannot promise that you will be happy, but we can provide all the elements that you are looking for to be happy.”
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.
An artist’s rendering of Natura, a project from Naturbana Properties in Abbotsford. [PNG Merlin Archive]
“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.”
An artist’s rendering of Natura, a project from Naturbana Properties in Abbotsford. [PNG Merlin Archive]
Bringing together older and younger people creates collaboration he said. “It is proven that older people really benefit from talking to younger generations and vice versa, so everybody wins.”
Jury has been consulting with a number of people, including the Fraser Valley Conservancy and local elementary schools, to see how they can help turn Natura into a place where people are happy to live.
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, more and more of whom are now working alone in their homes. “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 5,000-square-foot terrace with firepits and sun 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. It will have an indoor space with a lounge area and bar and outdoor space with an outdoor kitchen, both of which can be booked for private events.
An artist’s rendering of Natura, a project from Naturbana Properties in Abbotsford. [PNG Merlin Archive]
Jury said the “activated lobby” came from consulting with Charles Montgomery, award-winning author of the best-seller book Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design. From him, he learned about “what one can do to make people interact and use more of the common space on an everyday basis, not only when they have a party.” The building architects also designed extra-large individual balconies so residents can connect with the forest outside.
An artist’s rendering of Natura, a project from Naturbana Properties in Abbotsford. [PNG Merlin Archive]
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. The building also boasts Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) systems that reduce energy loss, while providing healthy environments.
Inside, all homes will have nine-foot-high ceilings with the level-five penthouses having 14-foot ceilings in the living and dining rooms. Portico Design Group gives buyers a choice of light and dark interior colour schemes, two-inch faux blinds and laminate flooring with an option to upgrade to carpeting in the bedrooms.
Kitchens feature a dining peninsula or island topped with durable quartz stone and porcelain tile backsplashes. Cabinetry is Canadian made with soft-close doors and drawers and Grohe engineered plumbing. 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.
Natura is a project from Naturbana Properties in Abbotsford. [PNG Merlin Archive]
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 is a project from Naturbana Properties in Abbotsford. [PNG Merlin Archive]
Other thoughtful features include digital parcel delivery lockers, a convenient heated storage locker on the same level as the home, community and private electric-vehicle charging stations, a bike room with automatic doors and repair space and a dog- and bike-wash station. Also planned is a community garden with raised planter boxes and a tool shed.
Kim Schuurman, 54, and her 58-year-old husband Doug bought a two-bedroom penthouse unit. She said she felt Natura was a possibility as soon as they visited the presentation suite and looked over the floor plans. They are downsizing from a detached home about 10 minutes away in Abbotsford, now that their daughter has left home.
“My husband has been wanting to downsize for a few years and we have been looking around. It is located in the middle of a beautiful forested area, yet it is in the middle of town. It made me think I would miss my garden less if I was surrounded by all this greenery and forest.”
But the other thing they liked about Natura was how the building’s design promoted mingling with other residents. “I am quite a social person and I want to get out and meet people,” said Schuurman, who has recently changed jobs from being a law office administrator to an event planner with a kitchen shop. “With the firepits and the lounge areas, it looked homey and didn’t look like you would be in your little apartment not meeting anybody. There is an opportunity to get out and meet people.”
Natura
Project location: 3182 Gladwin, Abbotsford
Project scope: A total of 73 one-, two- and three-bedroom homes in a five-storey wood-frame building overlooking Horn Creek Park. More than 8,700 square feet of interior and exterior amenity space, including lounge, shared work space as well as park-side and roof-top patio areas. Close to schools, shopping and other amenities
Prices: Starting at $259,900 for homes ranging from 444 to 1,458 square feet
Developer: Naturbana Properties and Kerkhoff Construction
Architect: CHP Architects
Interior designer: Portico Design Group
Sales centre: 33338 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford
Sales phone: 604-776-4588
Centre hours: noon — 5 p.m., Sat — Thurs
Website: liveatnatura.com
Occupancy: Fall 2021