The real estate industry has coined the term “curb appeal” to refer to the overall experience of viewing a residential property from the street. Everything about a home contributes to its curb appeal, from its siding and shingles to the shrubs and sidewalks. A major factor in curb appeal is the driveway – second only to the lawn of a freestanding home in terms of area covered, and the first place a prospective buyer literally sets foot.
Builders and developers of residential housing have come to appreciate the impact that driveways can have on buying decisions. All things being equal, a home with a broomed, smooth, or stamped concrete driveway cast in an appealing color will frequently have the edge over one with a grey concrete or an asphalt driveway.
In no segment of today’s housing market are competitive advantages more important than the retirement-community segment. No longer the exclusive domain of southern latitudes, developments that offer single-story floor plans in gated communities offering seniors a modicum of security are springing up across Canada and the U.S. with increasing frequency.
Higginson Villas of Chilliwack, British Columbia is such a place. Situated on 30 acres of farmland highly desired for its level terrain, Higginson Villas is in its third phase of development. Prospective buyers have several home layouts ranging from 1,300 to 2,000 square feet from which to choose, but the material used to pour driveways and streets is uniform throughout a given phase and determined by the builder/developer.
When the time came to pour driveways in the first phase of Higginson Villas, the builder didn’t feel that the incremental cost of colored, stamped concrete was a worthwhile investment and elected to use conventional grey concrete instead. John Kliever, Lafarge’s technical sales representative in the area, suggested the contractor’s project manager (and nephew), Dick Klaassen visit a nearby townhouse development that featured Artevia colored and stamped concrete driveways to compare them to basic grey concrete driveways in terms of curb appeal. The suggestion produced the desired effect.
| Recognizing the potential value of the dramatically different driveways in terms of the sales of Phase 2 homes, Dick’s uncle agreed with the recommendation to use Artevia. A single custom color was used for all 45 homes and the rest, as they say, is history. The same approach, but featuring Artevia Colour, Premium Slate, will mark the 45 homes on the drawing board for the third phase of construction. |  |
When Klaassen describes the contribution Artevia has made to the curb appeal of the second- and third-phase Higginson Villas homes he gets right to the point. “[Home buyers] are one hundred percent positive about it ... they love it,” he says. And he is equally direct when describing the quality of service delivered by Kliever and Lafarge. “We just never have had any problems with Lafarge,” he explains. “They give good service, they stand behind their materials, and their pricing is competitive. I’m one hundred percent happy with Artevia; it’s very beautiful and the color is consistent because it’s not patchy when it dries.”
Like many other firms in the U.S. and Canada, Klaassen Contracting has come to realize that the quality and affordability of Artevia have made it an irresistible choice for home builders seeking a competitive edge in a highly competitive arena.
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