IN THE SPOTLIGHT
GERANIUM HOLDS BEHIND-THE-SCENES NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION TOUR IN AURORA
Award-winning developer and builder Geranium recently hosted hard hat tours for homeowners-in-waiting and prospective buyers at the company’s Allegro community in downtown Aurora, with more than 100 people attending. The tours provided an exclusive look at what the company does behind-the-wall to future-proof its new homes – aiming to educate and provide insight on the construction process.
Group tours at Aurora – a collection of 52- and 61-ft. homes nestled in an existing neighbourhood of mature-treed lots – were led by Geranium’s construction staff through a 4,000-sq.-ft. home at the framing stage. These events are unique and are above and beyond the standard practice in the industry, setting the company apart, Geranium says.
“We’ve hosted hard hat tours for many years and the feedback is always very positive,” says Stephanie Lane, vice-president, sales and marketing. “Homebuyers often focus on their finishes, such as countertops, flooring, tiles and more, but we feel it’s equally as important for them to know how a home is built and the mechanisms behind the walls.”
Some of the items covered in the tours included the benefits of raised heel roof trusses, use of Tyvek home wrap as a drainage plane and air barrier, the different types of insulation used and their
respective R-values, efforts made to reduce water leaks in bathrooms and laundry areas, and the inclusion of greywater rough-in lines, a standard in every executive home built by Geranium, for the future purchase and installation of a water recycling system.
“My tour experience was great,” says Eric A., attendee and prospective buyer at Allegro. “The construction lead, Andrew, was very knowledgeable. I appreciate the fact that Geranium is using building materials and standard features that exceed the building code. One feature that stood out to me, and I give Geranium credit for, is the use of two-stage HVAC systems, which is an awesome feature. I also love the loggia included in the home, and the big window designs won my heart. Overall, I had a very positive experience with the home construction and tour.”
Since 1977, Geranium has been creating master-planned communities and building quality new homes in the Greater Toronto Area and southern Ontario. These include Friday Harbour Resort in Innisfil, Courts of Canterbury adult lifestyle bungalows in Port Perry, and estate homes in Claremont, Aurora and Pickering. A longtime advocate of transparency, the company has been inviting its homebuyers and potential
purchasers to behind-the-scenes tours of homes in progress for nearly 20 years to demonstrate its approach to design and construction.
