They’re a small company that deliberately stays small, crafting about 15 unique, high-end homes every year.  Yet they just won five coveted SAM awards for their work in 2004, with three of McKinley Masters’ homes judged to be the very best in their price range. More importantly, the company itself was named Builder of Distinction for the fourth year in a row – an honour bestowed by the knowledgeable members of the CRHBA. Best of all, perhaps, McKinley Masters won the Customers’ Choice award for small volume builders – an award based on the opinions of home buyers themselves.

“Those awards carry a lot of prestige, and it humbles it quite a bit, because there are such good builders in town,” says Ken Hubert, marketing director of McKinley Masters Custom Homes. “It’s nice to be recognized by the industry. We’re trying to do the right thing, and it looks like we are so far.”

Three McKinley Masters homes were judged best in their high-end categories. “We won for best new custom home from $500,000 to $749,999. That was a lovely house on an acreage,” Hubert says. It’s a striking modern design with a lofty central space sheltered by two lower wings.

A second custom home from McKinley Masters won in the $750,000 and up category. It’s a more traditional design of about 10,000 square feet with four gables accenting its wide front elevation.
The company also won for best show home over $750,000. This is the spectacular “Legends of the Fall” model, located at 251201 Welland Drive in Bearspaw. It’s meant to be a showpiece of McKinley Masters’ design and craftsmanship, and it certainly succeeds.

The company started in 1989, building custom acreage homes. “The value and quality has increased over time, and has been recognized,” Hubert says. “It was especially recognized in the Bearspaw area, where Mark Kwasnicki, our founder, started out.”

McKinley Masters normally only builds about 15 homes a year. You wouldn’t think that’s enough to create a high profile in the Calgary market, but people who want a superb custom home seem to find their way to the company. “A lot of it’s recommendations, and some of it is the SAM awards, of course, and we have a superb web site,” Hubert says. (The web site is at http://www.mckinleymasters.com)

This year, for the first time, McKinley Masters is establishing a major presence in Calgary. “We have about six projects in the city, four of them well under way. That’s new for us, though we did a little bit in the city years ago,” Hubert says.

The company has made a concerted effort to raise its profile as an inner-city builder. “We’re working in established communities in the inner city, not new areas,” Hubert adds.

McKinley Masters protects its high reputation for craftsmanship by holding on to proven tradespeople. “Most of the trades we’ve got have been with us since the get-go,” Hubert says.

“We try to keep going at the same pace so that everybody’s working steadily. That’s why we build a number of homes that’s comfortable for us. It’s more important for us to do the same quality of home through the years. To keep up the quality, you can’t take on more than you can do. We’re not interested in volume.”   NHS