It’s taken them nearly 30 years to bring to fruition but Cala Homes has finally launched their Rosefield Gardens development in Cults. And as Cheryl Livingstone found out, it is worth the wait
Friarsfield Road in Cults was identified by CALA Homes as a potential location for a new housing development.
But it would be another 27 years before that vision became a reality.
Despite the delays the company never gave up on their dream due to its long history with Cults – where they built their first home – and because of a relationship built up with the owners of the site itself.
Now more than 70 homes will be built on the location as part of the Rosefield Gardens development.
It’s a pretty big deal for Cults – a part of Aberdeen that has seen little development in 10 years.
And so with the two showhomes opening last month, I decided to check them out and catch up with Mike Naysmith, CALA Homes (North) managing director, to see how it is going so far.
The 73 detached homes are a mix of four and five bedroom luxury villas. The showhomes – The Crichton and The Moncrief – are just two of the styles available and are equally impressive.
Every room is spacious yet cosy and has been given its own personality thanks to the design talents of Blocc.
A kitchen, dining and family area is definitely the most special element of this house and is bound to be the hub for many families.
Large windows decorate the walls ensuring the house is flooded with natural light while a natural flow has been created inside.
Upstairs the bedrooms are all generously sized with most coming with an en suite – even the kids will have their own shower-room.
It’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into ensuring these homes are both beautiful but practical for modern day families. Storage spaces are everywhere you look including a quaint porch area at the front for your coat and shoes.
Mike said they had decided to go for the larger homes following comments from customers.
He said: “We did a lot of market research, which we do for all our sites, and the feedback that we were getting was that there hadn’t really been any development in the area for more than 10 years.
“So those who wanted to stay in Cults couldn’t find a house big enough for them after they had outgrown their current one. It meant they were just extending their homes rather than moving. So we saw an opportunity to build bigger homes that would suit those families.”
Those families opinions about the way houses should be designed was also something CALA took into consideration.
“We held customer focus groups and what we found is that they wanted an area at the back where all the family could be,” Mike explained.
“So we created this kitchen, dining and family area. Mum or Dad could be cooking in the kitchen, the kids can be watching TV and then they can all have their dinner together around the table. It’s one of my favourite aspects, it’s very much how I live with my own family.
“The sitting room is now very much kept as a best room which is going back to the times when my grandparents were around, the lounge was never really used, only for special occasions.
“It also came out that people no longer require a dining room, that is seen as almost a luxury and they would rather have more space in the family, living and dining area instead.
“In the sleeping accommodation most of the rooms have en suites and that is because mum and dads have realised that to get everyone out in the morning on time, you need more than one bathroom. We have also kept the rooms bigger. We could have had six bedrooms instead of five but we wanted to make them a generous size.”
The site launched in January and despite not one brick being laid, 20 homes were scooped up off-plan. Mike said it was a significant uptake compared to other sites, both in Aberdeen and the rest of the country.
Potential customers were able to view similar designed homes at the company’s site in Foveran to get a feel for the quality and style that would be featured in Cults.
The first families will move into their new homes in July and the site itself is expected to be fully completed by 2016.
Now with the showhomes opening, CALA expect the popularity of the site will grow.
“We have had a very positive response so far. We had people saying once they were inside the showhome that they didn’t want to leave.”
Prices start at £565,000 and go up to just under £835,000 for this phase.
The sales office at Rosefield Gardens is open Thursday – Monday from 11am-5:30pm. For more information, visit www.cala.co.uk
