THE 580 COMMONAGE
VERNON LANDS
Attainable and innovative housing in harmony with nature only seven minutes from downtown Vernon
LEONARD'S 580 COMMONAGE VISION
It Takes a Village to Build a Village
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The day after we bought the land, I walked the property and stopped at a single fir tree in the middle of a grassy clearing. I sat under that tree for hours, watching the cloud shadows move across the hills and reflecting on the two years of work that led to this moment. It was a good spot to contemplate the magnitude of what we had just accomplished—the opportunity to create something very special: an entirely new community of homes, with a vibrant village center, parks, trails, recreation, and amenities.
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As I considered the new community, I thought about the people who would call this incredible spot home. What would they want? What is important to them? Who would they be, and would they love it as much as I do? Then it dawned on me, that the people who will love it here are much like my family, and our friends. They are people who want to live amongst this beauty every day.
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I envisioned a community set within the trees, one that protected the land by preserving and working with the natural landscape rather than changing it. I realized that the land and the view are the most important things to preserve. It is why people will want to live here, and as a home builder, that it is my responsibility to protect these things for future residents.
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I committed to preserving as much land as possible for parks, hiking paths, and other outdoor amenities. I pictured kids like mine tobogganing down the slopes in the winter and scampering back to the top to slide down again. This development will be unlike any other in Canada.
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Leaning against the tree, looking out across Okanagan and Swan Lake, it was clear why the area is so desirable. We all love it and want to spend as much time here as possible. I have friends and family and staff who relocated to the Okanagan and love the lifestyle. None of them would ever move away from it.
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It is the lakes, the lifestyle, the air, and the open space that bring people to the Okanagan, and makes them never want to leave. I began to think about how to protect these views and open spaces. I considered how our community would interact with the village center and the natural surroundings, and how the homes could rest on the landscape rather than distort it.
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I left that fir tree with a mission: to dedicate over half of the land for parks and open spaces, and to build a village that everyone would love, with homes that everyone could afford. Since that day, with that clear vision in mind, our design team has created a new style of community with a village center, restaurants, commercial and retail spaces, and even a pub—all integrated into the natural landscape, amongst the trees, and bordering the new parklands.
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The Kerkhoff company has been building in British Columbia for over five decades. We have built thousands of homes, but over the past decade, the housing market has become very disconnected from peoples’ incomes. Ten years ago, home ownership was achievable with a modest income. Not today. Hope of ever owning a home for many has disappeared.
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It’s time to change. We must adapt. We need to think differently about how we provide homes and find creative ways to create attainable homes for everyone. It is time to look back in history, to the post-war era, when compact single-family homes, built on a huge scale, offered people the ability to own at prices they could afford, and blend in the current advancements in design and technology. It is time to make substantial changes and unravel the housing crisis. We are committed to doing our part. I believe we are well on our way to offering something different, and making home ownership a reality, once again.
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Sincerely,