Welcome to The Woodlands

The elegant Royal Alexandra Hall in Cranbrook was alive with chatter, music and murmurs of appreciation for the food on offer during The Woodlands at Wildstone grand opening reception on May 17.

The Woodlands is a 125-unit residential development situated at the Wildstone Golf Course. Development partners are Patricia Pollitt and Gary Pottage of Red Deer, Alberta, and Clint Cawsey of Canmore, Alberta.

Remarks from Cranbrook’s mayor, Lee Pratt, its CAO, David Kim, and Kimberley’s mayor, Don McCormick, opened the event. All three expressed optimism about the importance and impact of a new residential development in the area, citing the employment opportunities during the construction process and the benefits of increased housing options.

Pollitt, an early investor in Wildstone, recently suggested to Pottage and Cawsey that they look at the Woodlands project with an eye to investment. They liked the look and feel of Cranbrook and decided to invest in the development.

“Cranbrook seems to be evolving,” said Cawsey. “It’s becoming more of a place where people want to live and retire to. It has a small-town feel with big-town amenities like the airport, the college and the hospital, and so much recreation immediately available.”

The partners decided to use only local contractors, in spite of having established relationships with a number of contractors near by in southern Alberta. “We’re supporting the local businesses as much as we can, including the local contractors,” said Cawsey. “Their pricing has been reasonable and their service has been excellent.”

The developers complimented the progressive mind-set demonstrated by the administrations of Cranbrook and Kimberley in establishing the Cranbrook-Kimberley Development Initiative. Cawsey thinks the initiative is an economic development model that makes good sense, and that it will have an ongoing positive outcome over time.

“In our dealings with the City of Cranbrook, they couldn’t have been better,” he added. “They’ve been both encouraging and supportive. They’ve made it very easy to do business with the city, and that’s not always the case in other centres. I think that within a couple of years Cranbrook will be even more of a place that people want to move to.”

The grand opening event was co-ordinated by Brook PR and exquisitely catered by Alicia Bodaly of Gathering Company in Kimberley. Music was provided by guitarist Don Glasrud. Guests were invited to view The Woodlands site after the grand opening reception via shuttle service provided by Tod Caton of Simply Kimberley.

Companies involved in the construction of The Woodlands include the following:

• Land development - Haworth Development Consulting, Invermere
• Earth moving - Fiorentino Bros. Contracting Ltd., Cranbrook
• Underground site servicing - B. Wickhorst Contracting Ltd., Cranbrook
• Civil engineering - McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd., Cranbrook
• Electrical contractor - KD Electric, Cranbrook
• Marketing - StoryCo., Kimberley

Sales of the housing units are open to any Realtor who wishes to be involved.