When Preston Homes launched the first phase of its new home community Copper Hills in 2007, the Town of Newmarket was just beginning to register on Greater Toronto Area buyers’ radar.
Since then the popularity of the community in York Region north of Toronto has flourished. In 2013, MoneySense magazine named Newmarket as one of the Top 10 Small Cities in the country in its Canada’s Best Places to Live in 2013.
Little wonder that home buyers are finding it such a desirable place to live, given its convenient access to transportation, its abundance of parks and green space, and the wide range of shopping choices, services, and amenities.
Coppers Hills is Newmarket’s premier new home community. Preston Homes has released the fourth phase of Copper Hills, offering luxury detached homes on 40-, 45-, 50- and 52-foot lots. About 50 lots remain available for purchase, priced from $1.019 to just under $1.3 million, with homes ranging in size from 2,500 to 3,600 square feet. Buyers in the earlier phases of Copper Hills have enjoyed healthy appreciation in their homes’ values, with houses in the first phase now selling for double their original price, according to Adam Goldstein of Preston Homes.
Goldstein told the Epoch Times that in recent years, Copper Hills has been attracting many Chinese buyers and Phase IV is no exception. Those buyers appreciate the homes’ luxury, craftsmanship and value, the proximity to Markham, and the lifestyle offered in Newmarket.
“A lot of our buyers are new immigrants. Some are still in China and are buying a house for a family member or for themselves to move into,” says Goldstein. “This is generally not an investor project. These are end users.”
Coppers Hills is a distinctive neighbourhood, as all streets radiate in a circle from a large central municipal park that includes a new soccer pitch and a future school site. The community design has resulted in a pedestrian-friendly neighbourhood with landscaped walkways leading to the park.
“Newmarket is big on parks, green space, and an active lifestyle,” said Goldstein.
Local amenities include dozens of public golf courses, tennis courts, riding stables, and the Magna Centre, a state-of-the-art recreation complex with Olympic and NHL-sized ice rinks, pools, and gymnasium. Commuters have easy access to highways 404 and 400, or can take the GO train and can be in downtown Toronto within an hour. York Region Transit/Viva bus stops are steps away and the community is served by public and private schools.
The town’s main street, Davis Drive, has been expanded to include a new Viva bus rapidway and the street is being redeveloped as an attractive urban destination for shopping, working, and dining.
There are many shopping opportunities in town including at the renovated Upper Canada Mall or at big box stores, charming boutique shops, and roadside fruit and vegetable stands. The Southlake Regional Healthcare Centre serves as a community hospital and regional cardiac care and maternal child care centre for northern York Region and south Simcoe County.
As well as these modern amenities, Copper Hills homeowners enjoy a satisfying lifestyle within their own neighbourhood. Copper Hills boasts beautiful streetscapes with all-brick home exteriors accented with stone or stucco and the streets’ circular design naturally calms traffic and makes it safe for families.
“The site has all wide shallow lots that make it unique,” says Goldstein. “It makes for a very nice streetscape. Our smallest lots are 40 feet wide.”
Every phase of Copper Hills has included new home plans and Phase IV is no exception. Jardin Design Group and Preston’s in-house architects have created thoughtful layouts that are spacious and functional for family living. With features such as nine-foot ceilings, gourmet kitchens and spa-like bathrooms, the homes offer luxury features as standard that would be upgrades at many other home sites.
There are five model homes on site at Copper Hills for would-be buyers to visit to see for themselves how the floor plans work, the quality of Preston Homes’ signature craftsmanship and the standard and upgrade options available.
While Copper Hills Phase IV is the last phase of single homes, in 2017, Preston Homes will offer limited opportunities for other home styles. A bonus phase of redeveloped estate lots almost an acre in size each with large homes of 4,500 to 6,000 square feet in size is planned, along with a small collection of luxury executive townhouses.
“Copper Hills has become a really unique neighbourhood,” notes Goldstein. “We’ve had many of our original buyers move up to a new home each phase. It’s become a destination.”
For more information on Copper Hills Phase IV, click on http://prestongroup.ca/homes/projects/copperhills4/
Tracy Hanes is a Toronto area freelance writer specializing in real estate, renovations and new home development.
