Thursday, November 12, 2009

Mattamy Tries to Impress the Judges Again

From the City of Pickering's November 9th council meeting, I found that there still is life in this project. Mattamy submitted another round of draft plans for Pickering to use as a doormat just in time for a sloppy, wet and cold winter.

I'll try to post them up soon as they appear online and find out what's new this time around but the bigger question will be, if anyone cares anymore?!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Progress...




The lack of posts since July 22nd is because of the lack of news coming out of Pickering. After council had rejected Mattamy's plans for being "not good enough," they came to the understanding that they would re-evaluate everything after all of the builders' proposals were ready. They would prefer to evaluate plans on the whole rather than individually moving forward...


Well...things seem to be going on somewhere, someplace and at sometime....but at the moment I have nothing to share with y'all.


I've started to look into the re-sale market once again and may opt for something else. I will continue however, to follow the progress on the Seaton project and evaluate for myself which decision may be best.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Council REJECTS Subdivision plan despite city staff approval!

So....this is seriously never going to happen!!

I was a bit premature thinking the subdivision plans were approved...well despite approval from city staff, councillors in Pickering have narrowly rejected the plans that I thought were approved (sadly, I am not an expert with City Hall procedures).

City staff noted while the application met the Duffin Heights neighbourhood development guidelines, it was felt it was more innovative before Mattamy revised it. But ultimately, staff suggested council accept it since it was accessible and pedestrian-oriented and will allow for development that "meets the intent of the City's sustainable development guidelines."


How long will it take Mattamy to re-do its plans? Who knows...maybe another year.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Look Who Moved-In Next Door!



Things just got a little busier along Brock Rd. recently. Coughlan Homes (who are identified as Cougs Limited) on the Seaton site plans have begun to set up shop almost adjacent to the Creekside sales centre. So I checked out their website and found this information about their Seaton offerings.



Duffins Heights, Pickering
Location: Tillings Road, north of Dersan Street, off of Brock Road, Pickering
Master planned community
Single detached homes and townhomes on 32' and 39' lots adjacent to the Ganasekaigon Creek Valley
Over 100 lots available

You may pre-register on their website now but there is no option to pre-register for Duffin Heights.


Welcome to the neighbourhood Coughlan Creekside!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Mattamy Subdivision Plans for Creekside Approved!

Monday's Joint Committee Meeting that went into the early hours of the morning saw Mattamy's plan of subdivision for Creekside approved!

Visit the forums where you can find some new details about the subdivision!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Seaton Creekside returns to Mattamy Print Ads

A year or 2 ago (I can't remember), Seaton Creekside would be featured in the 'Coming Soon' portion of Mattamy Homes' print ads in newspapers and magazines. They even ran a series of ads last year claming that Creekside would be the "best thing since sliced bread" and something relating to "learning to fly a kite again." Well Pickering told Mattamy, "you can't do anything 'til we figure out what we want to do. So a year later, the city has figured out what it wants to do (see my previously posted "Mattamy wants to DIG") and Mattamy can once again advertise that Creekside is infact Coming Soon again.



Joining Creekside are, Ancaster Arbor in Ancaster (duh) and two sites in Brampton: Mount Pleasant Heights and Castlemore Crossing.



Let the hype begin!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Mattamy is ready and wants to DIG!


Hey! Long time no see!!

On July 6th, 2009 at 7:30pm somewhere in the confines of Pickering City Hall, Mattamy Homes will present a 200-something page draft plan for its Seaton Creekside site in hopes that the city will finally pass the by-laws required to start selling and digging. The above picture was made by myself to illustrate the "Revised" site plan in relation to a map of of the area. I know the scale and proportions might be off, but you get the idea. The golf course is under there and the southern border is the Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

So what's in the package? Well let's just say that Mattamy has taken into account all of the amendments that were made to the proposals and such (like Environmental service plans, sustainability, watershed, blah blah blah...I've seriously lost count of all the documents that I've found and shared over the past 2 years.)

Anyways, there are some surprising changes that many may not too pleased to hear about the plans for Creekside. I will go into more detail in the forum, over the next few days because its late and I have work in the morning, and oh yeah....its a 200 page document!!!
So get set because the opening may soon be upon us (or maybe its just another tease?!)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Some 'Spirited' News in the Forums


There's something big in the forums that you need to check out that yours truly has stumbled upon. It could be big enough news that it could greatly affect your decision to buy in Seaton Creekside.
The forums are FREE to join and hold all the up-to-date news regarding Seaton Creekside. You can only view the forums as a member!
They are located at:
Or from the main page the link is in the upper right-hand corner.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Pickering OKs Environmental Service Plans, makes way for Duffin Heights




So it seems that Monday's Planning and Development Committee meeting actually got something APPROVED. The environmental service plan that sets out the environmental, transit and ecological guidelines for the neighbourhood has been passed despite some resistance from current residents in Duffin Heights. But the councillors pointed to the little patch of grass that would remain and told them to shut up and be quiet.

One thing councillor Little wanted to change was the maximum heights of buildings in the neighbourhood (possibly paving the way for apartment buildings/condos?) but that wasn't gonna happen because of the recession.

So now what? When are homes gonna go on sale? Beats me...but hopefully sometime soon!!

Join the forums and read the article!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Duffin Heights Cut Down to Size




So, the documents that I posted in the forums have revealed that the city is looking to be more modest with the short-term growth of North Pickering aka Duffin Heights.

Some of the fat being trimmed:
  • A reduction in the number of schools from 4 to 2 (public & Catholic)
  • Stormwater facilities go down from 5 to 4
  • The previous 5 neighbourhood parks will be cut down to 1
  • most importantly, the population growth will be drastically reduced in the first 7 years...with (only) 5800 500 people calling Duffin Heights home by 2011.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Mattamy Homes Rounds the Bend into Duffin Heights



I broke this news a few days ago on the Moving into Mattamy Seaton Creekside Forums. What do you mean you missed it? Okay well you need to head there now and check it out.

So what can you expect in my post?
  • The details of the planning process that the city and the builders have been working on for what seems like forever now.

  • Mattamy Homes' score on the "Sustainable Development Scoring System"

  • Previews of the "desired" street scapes, paths, and intersections that will make-up the Duffin Heights portion of Brock Rd. as per the city

  • How the mixed-use corridor will situate shops, townhomes and homes

Oh yeah, and also you'll get the EXCLUSIVE on the important dates leading up to Council Approval which seems right around the corner!

All of this comes at the low introductory price of FREE.99!! All you have to do is register for our Forums at the top right of the page and start enjoying all the information listed above!


Things are Playing into the Buyers' Hands More Each Day



Article from the Toronto Star this morning about the large declines in new-home starts. They use a Pickering town-home builder as an example of the struggles that new-home builders are facing right now. Here are some of the highlights:

Roof caves in on housing starts

CMHC forecasts a 22% drop in Ontario this year as global credit crunch takes toll on home builders

If time had been on Murray Koebel's side, there would be 45 new homes built on his Pickering site by this summer. But when he opened his sales office seven months ago, he was just in time for the credit crunch in October that dramatically stalled the market for home builders in
North America. "I don't think this is necessarily even about price – it's about confidence. People are just nervous to buy when you have all this bad news," said Koebel, a veteran builder who has been developing homes since 1981.

Grim outlook for the new home starts


According to a forecast released yesterday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., housing starts in Ontario are expected to drop by more than 22 per cent this year, to 58,250 units, before rebounding by 1.9 per cent in 2010. Koebel is all too representative of those numbers. He expected to finish work on his site this year, but because of slow sales, has pushed his Steeple Hill development back to 2010. Over the past year, he has dropped the price of his homes three times, in $10,000 increments, and offered incentives such as hardwood upgrades and appliances.

and that sad Pickering builder struggles to get financing...

Koebel said if he started selling a year earlier, he would have been sold out by now. So far, he has sold six of the 45 units. He figures he needs to sell between 10 to 15 units before he obtains bank financing.

Read the entire article in our Forums.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Mark Your Calendars! Update: Agenda looks boring!



Pickering City Hall has posted this little nugget today as something to look forward to in the next 11 days. Could this finally be the meeting that gives the developers the green light to break ground in Duffin Heights? We hope so! Stay Tuned!

Mark this date on your calendar...and attend and give us the scoop!

Monday, February 2, 2009 - 3:00 PM - Main Committee Room
Special Planning & Development Committee Meeting
Re: Development of the Duffin Heights Neighbourhood

On the same day, the Ontario Realty Corp will be presenting their draft plan for the subdivision that will go up just to the south of Creekside.

Big things for February 2nd it seems!

UPDATE:
This is the agenda for the February 2nd meeting...

Welcome and Introductions by the Chair
I MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION PAGES
PART A
1 Urban Design
Mixed Use Corridor
Presentation by City staff and The Planninq Partnership
PART B
2 Road Profile
Relationship to Land Uses
Presentation by City staff and The Planninq Partnership
PART C
3 Sustainable Design
Neighbourhood Subdivision Buildings
Presentation by City staff
II NEXT STEPS
Review of next steps by City staff

Pickering: No to Airport. Mattamy: Yes to "Home-Domes"




So the Airport drama is back for the 09 edition. Rightfully so, the city of Pickering has re-stated its position regarding the airport. Their position, a unanimous NO***! Okay so its not a cut-and-dry, flat-out no but seeing as how long it's taken to build a few houses, this is going to take another 30 years. The article reports,

"Rumours are swirling that Minister of Finance and Whitby-Oshawa MP Jim Flaherty will approve the proposed Pickering airport in next week's fiscal stimulus package. In 1972, the federal government expropriated 18,600 acres of farmland for the possibility of an airport in north Pickering. But a shovel hasn't yet touched the ground. An environmental assessment is scheduled to be complete this year."
Seaton (those hoping to live in the later phases located North of Taunton Rd) and many Northwest Markham residents, , will definitely have the airport on their minds as they worry about noise, pollution, and plane crashes if the government finally puts the shovel to the dirt after hemming and hawing since '78.

"It's time the federal government made a decision one way or another on the airport," he said, adding the size of the pipes slated for the Seaton community will be dependant on whether or not there's going to be an airport. As well, potential Seaton residents have a right to know if they'll be living next to an airport.
Almost immediately after the announcement, Mattamy Homes has announced** that homes built in close proximity to the airport will be sold with sound deadening foundations, fencing, insulation and an optional retractable dome capsules will maintain a pollution-free environment available through the design centre. Pricing has yet to be announced on the "Home-Domes" but is expected to run $100-200k!

***"the Federal Minister of Finance and the Regional Chair of Durham Region do not advocate for federal infrastructure funding for an airport in Pickering until such time as a viable and accepted business case can be presented."

**Mattamy Homes only announced this in my dreams. Please do not email them about this.


UPDATE:

Mattamy has released an artists rendition of the proposed "Home-Domes" which they state "preserves the beauty of its trademarked WideLot Homes." Townhouse owner unfortunately will not have the dome feature available to them. Hear-muff sales will definitely see a spike in sales in the coming years.*

*Even my update is a fictitious story. But you knew that already.

Discuss the airport in Seaton and read the full article in the MiSC Forums!