Stepping up to the inner city
Stepper Homes launches new inner-city brand and infill project
Stepper Custom Homes has begun to build “in”, not out. The longtime Calgary builder is turning to infills in the inner city under the new brand Innenstadt, as an additional offering from the company.
Innenstadt, which means “downtown” in German, is a nod to company founder Rudy Stepper’s German heritage.
“We saw this as a tribute to building in the inner-city communities where we started over 55 years ago,” says Murray Danyluk of Stepper Custom Homes.
Rudy and his wife Erna Stepper moved to Canada from Germany in 1953 arriving with just a few dollars in their pockets.
Together they built their first home, then built their company, establishing it in 1956. Today, the third generation is working in the family business, and Rudy’s son Harry is chairman.
Infills are a niche Stepper Custom Homes has been considering for a while.
“We’ve had opportunity to do it and offer a different option for our customers — an option to build in established communities close to schools, and all the other fun stuff that’s close by,” Danyluk says.
It’s a trend encouraged in part by Calgary’s plan directing how growth and development will take place in the city. “Building up not out” is part of the philosophy of Plan It Calgary, approved by council in 2009.
The idea is to intensify and densify housing and activities around transit stations and premium bus routes, offer housing choice, mixed land-use, strong employment bases and walkable streets, public spaces and amenities.
Stepper Custom Homes is one of many Calgary builders looking to the inner city for land opportunities. Brookfield Homes is another builder with plans underway for infills in Bridgeland.
Infills in established neigh- bourhoods have great appeal. Although there are many housing options available in Calgary at the $800,000-price point, Stepper feels Innenstadt still generates a lot of interest.
“One of the things we’re finding is that people like the fact that it’s in an established community,” Danyluk says. “The schools are already there, you have the beautiful overhanging trees and the established amenities.
“A lot of people who are buying those types of houses are finding the value in that $800,000 in where they are placed.”
Stepper has two floor plans, the Leben (“live” in German) and the Kern (“core” in German). Two lots, each with a duplex, are under construction in Killarney in the city’s southwest.
The Leben is a 1,868-squarefoot home with three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. There is 625 square feet of developable space in the basement and a detached garage. It has a large back deck, main floor mud room and second-floor laundry.
The Kern is a 1,876-squarefoot home with three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. It has 636 square feet of developable basement space, a large master suite, second-floor laundry and a basement wet bar.
Standard features in the homes include granite, tile and hardwood, and a stainless steel kitchen appliance package.
Stepper plans to take the Innenstadt infills to other neighbourhoods.
“We set (Innenstadt) up so we can go that route,” Danyluk says. “Once we get a response from these, we’ll go into more areas and keep going with that. We’ve been exploring different communities and options for upcoming lot availability.”
Stepper began its investigation of land in the established communities of Marda Loop, Killarney and Bridgeland.
Building infills is different than building in a new community.
“From a planning and dealing with the city perspective, it was a different process than our normal permit process because we were involved with tearing down the old houses,” Danyluk says.
“The costs involved are the teardown; the build costs aren’t any different. You might incur other costs like hauling dirt away because you can’t put it on the next lot that’s empty.”
Infills are new to Stepper Custom Homes.
“We’ve done duplexes in the past, but nothing in the infill category,” Danyluk says. “Back in the ’80s is when we were doing duplexes and fourplexes. Typically we’ve focused over the last couple of years on move-up. Now we’re going into some other areas where we have starter homes as well. Now it’s starter, move-up and infills.”
Excavation on the basements of the Killarney lots is almost complete.
“We’ll be framing them up here in a few weeks, so we’ll give people something to look at,” Danyluk says.