Living-Stones is ready to roll

Not just housing, but building community is important to this company

The Living-Stones Developments management team—Jarrett Rudrum, project manager; James Hockley, office manager; and Dennis Hockley, president and owner—pose for a quick photo. — Marie Milner photo

In June 2012, Living-Stones Developments Ltd. will start construction on a new 58-unit townhouse complex located at 2306 - 30th Avenue North in Cranbrook.

“The land is cleared and ready for start of construction, which we are hoping will be sometime in June this year,” stated Dennis Hockley, Living-Stones’ owner/developer.

The development will consist of four types of family dwellings—from one-bedroom, one-level wheelchair-accessible units to three-bedroom, three-level units. Some will have ensuite bathrooms and all will come with six stainless steel appliances.

“We have had the vision for this townhouse (development) for about four years now,” said Hockley, “and have been gathering information. We have travelled to other centres to look at projects similar to this, and we have worked hard to make it not look like a row house.”

The buildings will be different colours, Hockley said, and each area will have a small private yard with a picket fence. There will be a green space in front of the complex, with a gazebo and a water feature.

“Our vision for 30th Avenue North Park is to develop a project that embraces the concept of community,” said Hockley. “The buildings have been carefully designed and located on the site to create pleasing sightlines that highlight walking paths, trees and grassy areas where families can congregate and children play. Parking, roads and site access have been designed so as not to interfere with play areas for children or detract from the park-like atmosphere.

“We are trying to hit that place (pricewise) for people who have not been able to afford to get into a new home. The whole idea is to create community so that we’ve got both younger families and older families in there.”

This will be a strata development, convenient for those who wish to travel. It will be built in stages, and pre-sales are projected to start in June 2012 for a January 1 possession date. Hockley said that the East Kootenay Community Credit Union has come on board as a partner, offering zero-down mortgages.