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Portnall Rise – Large Lots, Extraordinary Views
December 3,2010
Large Lots, Extraordinary Views
Sydnia Yu
From Friday’s Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Aug. 20, 2010 1:54PM EDT
When Emery Homes unveiled its plans for a community of grand homes on sprawling estate lots in Bradford, the Toronto-based builder was confident their biggest model – measuring nearly 4,600-square-feet – would be an ample size to serve the market.
Buyers immediately gravitated toward the project’s larger plans to accommodate their children, nannies and extended family members, yet still wanted more space for everything from a fourth garage to a sixth bedroom.
“Because of the high demand for larger homes, we’re coming up with three new plans that range from 6,000 to 6,600 square feet,” says Avril Lister, vice-president of sales and marketing. “We can do almost anything up there because of the size of the lots.”
Situated about 45 minutes north of Toronto, the private enclave called Portnall Rise will comprise 63 upscale bungalows and two-storey manors on one- to three-acre lots, including many overlooking the Holland Marsh and Oak Ridges Moraine.
“It’s a beautiful piece of land and the houses are phenomenal,” Ms. Lister says. “There’s not much around with those lot sizes so close to the city.”
Since the project will be set high on a hill, 49 homes will also have the benefit of walkouts from basements to backyards surrounded either by meadows or wooded valley lands.
“You’ve got almost an unobstructed view,” Ms. Lister says. “In the winter time, the snow is lovely and in the fall, it’s just a mass of gold and copper.”
Despite the project’s secluded countryside setting, residents will be minutes away from schools, parks and community and sports centres in the main part of town, as well as eateries, shops and services. “We’re very close to several golf courses,” Ms. Lister says.
The Bradford GO Train station and Highway 400 are also within a 10-minute drive, making it easy to commute to cottage country and larger cities such as Newmarket and Vaughan.
Interested buyers can browse through a catalogue of classic home designs with brick, stone, and stucco façades, three-car garages and covered porches, as well as decorative details including pitched roofs, gables, copulas, arched windows and dormers.
Bungalows currently range between 2,272 and 3,422 square feet, and two-storey houses offer 3,346 to 6,098 square feet.
The model home showcases the popular Portnall Rise design, which offers 4,589 square feet of living space, including four bedrooms and four bathrooms.
Highlights include a main-floor study, formal dining room, open eat-in kitchen and two-storey great room, in addition to a master suite with a private bathroom, a walk-in closet and access to a loggia and three-seasons room.
Other plans will feature spiral staircases, a fifth bedroom and solariums. Elevators will be optional.
Interiors will be finished with oak staircases, gas fireplaces and CaesarStone or granite kitchen countertops, plus 55-ounce carpeting, oak hardwood and porcelain tile floors. In addition, buyers will receive stainless steel kitchen appliances.
There will be 10- and nine-foot ceilings on the main and second floors respectively, plus coffered ceilings in some areas.
Energy efficient features will range from high-efficiency furnaces and water tanks to water-saving shower heads and toilets.
Buyers can move in one year after their purchase date.
