“We are now moving into Phase Five, with builders Shane, Morrison, Homes by Avi and Excel Homes with brand new show homes which just opened. The entire builder group consists of Trico, Sterling Homes, Baywest, Landmark and Lifestyle, says Alix Halpen, marketing director for United Communities.

Far from little houses on the prairie, the master-planned community offers a range of home styles and price points running the gamut from the $300,000s upwards of $800,000, including lot and GST, says Halpen.

Parks in Silverado will include tot lots and sports fields as well as an extensive pathway system meandering throughout the entire area.  “As we build westerly there will be an estate section with extra large lots, up to half-an-acre backing onto the parkland buffer between Silverado and Spruce Meadows,” says Halpen, of future Silverado plans.

A large commercial site is also slated, with construction set to begin in 2008.

Architectural details from cottage and gable roofs to muntin bars in windows punctuate home styles of Tudor, Arts and Crafts, Colonial Revival, and Stick Victorian in hues of greens, greys and browns, to emphasize the surrounding landscape and protect Silverado property values. Ranch-style garage doors are also mandatory to enhance the overall equestrian theme and promote a homogeneous look.

The same developer as Okotoks’ pilot Drake Landing Solar Project, United is once again wrangling up its green side in the area, by implementing the PEER Program (Purchaser Environmental Education Review Program). In addition to saving the landscape of the picturesque common space, by crafting boulevards and parks in a way that minimizes water use and planting hardy shrubs and trees, United’s plan for the area also includes mandating water-saving fixtures in homes from the building stage.

To this end, low-flow toilets, faucets and shower heads, water-conserving appliances from dishwashers to a front-loading washing machines, rain barrels supplied for watering as well as a timer for outdoor watering, and a hot water recirculation pump supplied with larger homes to reduce the water needing re-heating for interior use, are measures in place to conserve water for (and by) Silverado residents.

Meanwhile, lassoing a show home that catches one’s fancy shouldn’t be a problem for Silverado visitors as a host of parades are available in the southerly digs. The first lineup along Silverado Ponds Way features one home each from Sterling, Homes by Avi, Landmark, Trico and Lifestyle Homes respectively, all over 2,100 square feet with double front-attached garages, each showing a variation of the western theme with all the bells and whistles.

Sterling’s Laredo is a 2,294-square-foot traditional take on the country move-up home, including formal dining and living spaces and birch flooring underfoot. Upstairs, a bonus room’s effects are heightened with skylights and vaulted ceiling, while a loft area brings a touch of modern into the three-bedroom abode.

Homes by Avi’s 2,354-square-foot Princeton brings some ivy league to the rural landscape with wider plank maple flooring, an up-front formal dining room, ebony-stained cabinetry in the kitchen and a large great room tucked at the rear of the main floor. Upstairs, a massive bonus room is rivaled only by the master bedroom, complete with ceiling vault and a private ensuite spa-like retreat.

Landmark’s Huntsview showhome delivers 2,155 square feet of family living space from its up-front flex space to the rear’s open great room, kitchen and massive nook. Upstairs three well-sized bedrooms – including an enviable ensuite in the master bedroom – and a bonus room set apart from the rest round out the family-friendly features.

Trico’s 2,162 Gettysburg is only available in Silverado as part of the Trico Select series, and trots out more than its share of rustic charm, including a large country kitchen with a nook divided from the culinary hub and a raised eating bar, and floor-to-ceiling stonework on the great room’s fireplace mantle.

Lifestyle’s open concept, two-storey Belmont rounds out at 2,977 square feet including basement development, and features such eye candy as a scissor vaulted ceiling and luxurious ensuite in the owners’ suite and dormers in the secondary bedrooms to lend the home a true ranch feel.

A second parade features Pacesetter, Morrison and Baywest duplexes, while a third is home to two garageless jewel box showcases each by Creations by Shane and Discovery Homes by Morrison Homes on Silverado Range Close, spanning around 1,500 square feet and priced from the mid-$300,000s.

Shane and Morrison also craft homes with front-attached garages in the neighbourhood and have display homes, just up the street on Silverado Range Close with prices starting in the $470,000s.

Shane Homes Sales Associate Cheryl MacLeod says Silverado buyers are drawn to the southerly haunt for its “best of both worlds” appeal. “They like the open countryside and the fact that they can get away from the amenities of the Shawnessy area and see lots of wildlife right in the neighbourhood. You have the amenities close at hand, but you are not among them.”

Silverado’s final parade of homes with front-attached garages is hosted by Excel Homes and Homes by Avi’s newly-launched Concept series along Silverado Drive, with prices in the $300,000s and $400,000s.  NL