Blatchford

[TAS]

Versus when Blatchford started with its first townhomes - does the architecture style/quality/visual appeal overall seem to be on a downward trend?

I liked Encore a lot - but not sure if the current builds hold up to previous builds.

Is it about desire to keep it more affordable?

 

[Greenspace]

For sure. Upward pressure on construction costs and less buoyant real estate market/low rental rates definitely a trend downward.

 

[David A]

Versus when Blatchford started with its first townhomes - does the architecture style/quality/visual appeal overall seem to be on a downward trend?

I liked Encore a lot - but not sure if the current builds hold up to previous builds.

Is it about desire to keep it more affordable?

Yes, I think the desire to somehow try satisfy everyone and not really please anyone is part of the reason this has filled so slowly. This could never really be affordable given the location, but with better architecture style and quality it might have appealed more to those who were not so price sensitive.

 

[Gus Haynes]

I like it. I would live there.

 

[thommyjo]

Windows are too small. Increase those and it’ll help a ton.

 

[thefreezebreeze]

I'm most curious about how they're planning to interface with the park.

 

[fjordgard]

I'm most curious about how they're planning to interface with the park.

They better have commercial units facing the park. Coffee shop facing the Tomato playground? Amazing.

 

[itom987]

To the folks complaining about window sizes, large windows can be problematic when it comes to net zero building design.

I wish the net zero component for Blatchford wasn't such a huge priority.

 

[Coprolite]

Versus when Blatchford started with its first townhomes - does the architecture style/quality/visual appeal overall seem to be on a downward trend?

I liked Encore a lot - but not sure if the current builds hold up to previous builds.

Is it about desire to keep it more affordable?

Yes. Mutti might have glued mantlepieces to walls and cut every corner they could and you should absolutely never buy one of their houses anywhere in the city unless you are extremely prepared to spend a bunch of money fixing it, but they made sharp looking houses here even if they've been nightmare homes for their owners. Encore's Soho and Brooklyn builds were pretty unique, but they've definitely economized. I wouldn't say their offerings are bad now, but they're less distinct and the colour palate for their Alpha Boulevard homes rather missed the mark. Carbon Busters houses might be WEIRD on the inside and they have struggled with the concept of a house, but from the outside they are at least visually interesting. Ocheler's build was absolutely amazing, especially with how much light their basement suites get, but they just don't build very much at all anywhere. Landmark was for a while the most aesthetically weak. They've remained fairly consistent in their architecture of perfectly okay if not exactly remarkable design, which set them up fairly well architecturally after Streetside landed with a resounding MEH.

There is certainly much, much worse out there in Edmonton (gestures to nearly everything from the 1960s to when the Griesbach redevelopment got going), and I would rather have a vastly uglier Encore house than the prettiest Mutti home, but recent builds certainly are not hitting the same mark.