Development standard finds its way back into the Calgary region

When is a detached home still a condo? When it's a bare land condo, an under-utilized development standard that is once again sprouting up in the Calgary region.

Developers in new areas such as Watermark in Bearspaw and Shawnee Park are designating some or all of their respective developments as bare land condos as part of a more collective approach to building and maintaining communities.

Bare land condos have previously popped up in other area communities such as Tanglewood Estates, The Lake at Heritage Pointe, Okotoks Air Ranch, Elmont Green and Lott Creek Grove.

'If you build it, they will come'

Despite ongoing softness in the Calgary regional real estate market that has moderated activity in upscale communities such as Springbank and Bearspaw, industry experts believe the value proposition of upscale rural living remains unaffected.

"We have not seen construction stop," said Ian Macdonald, director of sales and marketing at Watermark at Bearspaw, a luxury estate community that recently won a Sales and Marketing (SAM) Award for Community of the Year, Calgary Region from the Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA) Calgary Region.

"I call it the Field of Dreams approach — if you build it, they will come."