But the team at Keith CONSTRUCTION COMPANY (the firm that would eventually become Genstar Development) had a dream for this bald section of land. They envisioned a lush green residential community – one with quiet, winding streets, wide boulevards, well-kept lawns and a self-contained pedestrian-friendly design. But that wasn’t all. At the heart of this idyllic neighbourhood would lay an enormous liquid jewel; a 52-acre lake where residents could frolic in the summer and fraternize in the winter; a gated retreat where parents could send their kids to play; a place for picnics, paddle boats, tennis, tobogganing, swimming and fishing; a private oasis mere minutes from home.

The project was no small undertaking. With millions of tons of dirt to dig out for the creation of the lake (not to mention the logistics behind sealing the ground and filling it with 250 million gallons of fresh water) the company certainly had their work cut out for them. Groundbreaking began in 1968, and after two years of painstaking effort, Keith Construction had created the very first man-made lake community not just in Calgary, but in all of Canada. Lake Bonavista was the prototype for all other lake communities across the country, and has since become one of Calgary’s most desirable neighbourhoods – inspiring other developers to follow suit in creating lake communities around the city.

“Lake communities are very attractive to buyers of all demographics,” says Mark Taylor, realtor with Re/Max House of Real Estate. “Out of all my clients, I’d estimate between 60-70 per cent specifically ask to see homes in lake communities or that have lake privileges.”

The advantages of living in a lake community are well known: four seasons of outdoor recreation and the ability to escape the city without leaving it topping the list. So where will an interested buyer find the lake of their dreams in a city of almost a million people?

There are ten lake communities in Calgary: Lake Bonavista, Arbour Lake, Lake Chapparal, McKenzie Lake, Elbow Valley, Lake Sundance, Midnapore, Coral Springs, TaraLake and Auburn Bay. Two more lay just outside the city limits: The Lake at Heritage Pointe and Lake Chestermere.

“Bonavista is still the most popular lake community in town,” Taylor says. “It has the biggest lake, and it’s kind of the Mount Royal of the suburbs. You pay a bit of a premium to live there.”
Homes in Bonavista are mostly mid-size bungalows ranging between 1,100 and 1,500 square feet. Moderate bi-level homes are also common, unless you venture over to the estate side of the community, where you’ll find expansive two-story split properties – a handful of which surround a second 35-acre,

strictly private lake. Prices run between $450,000 to a million plus depending on the location and size of the property. It may seem a bit steep for what you’re getting, but there’s a reason so few homes come up for sale in Bonavista and why those that do get snapped up so quickly. “Bonavista is a vibrant, mature, self-contained community,” says Ian Campbell, director of community relations.