Parade of Homes featuring the best of new homes in Manitoba, Canada
Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/1481503
Bison Run is Qualico Communities' newest development in southwest Winnipeg. Located in Waverley West, Bison Run is bordered between Bridgwater Forest, Bridgwater Centre, South Pointe and is near the University of Manitoba campus. This new neighbourhood has received an immense volume of anticipation in this highly desired area of the city. "It's a great opportunity to come into a growing neighbourhood," says Bryan Ward, vice-president of Qualico Communities. "Southwest Winnipeg has been an attractive part of the city for the past decade and there's been a long understanding that there will be an education recreation campus and schools in the neighbourhood that will make it very popular." With a bright outlook for this community, like many things, the pandemic delayed development. "The pandemic was and still is a real issue for Bison Run," explains Ward. "The first wave of the pandemic hit us just as underground servicing was about to start and with uncertainty of markets, whether we were going to be allowed to work or availability of supplies and labour, we suspended its servicing start date for a year." Although the brunt of the pandemic has passed, the lingering effects are still impacting development in Bison Run. Factors including lasting labour shortages and longer approval times have all made everything that goes into servicing a community take more time than usual. These circumstances further postponed what is normally a community's most complex phase to complete. "All the infrastructure in the first phase needs to be designed in a way to serve all future phases of the community and its adjacent land," says Ward. "This means we need to oversize everything, including roads and underground pipes." This process ensures that services can be extended from Phase 1 to future phases, as well as its adjacent land in an orderly way. In Bison Run there is an added layer of intricacy where there are multiple developers involved who will all benefit from the services. "There are a number of different developers within Waverley West neighbourhood B and all of them share in the costs of the infrastructure in a fair way," explains Ward. "It's a much more complicated process to figure out how to ensure that costs borne by developers are allocated fairly to all parties." Although development has been delayed in Bison Run, the community's progress is continuing to push forward. In August, Bison Run celebrated the completion of its servicing in Phase 1, allowing builders to now obtain full permits to begin construction on the homes they have already sold. With City of Winnipeg approvals in place for Phase 2, underground servicing is expected to begin this winter with roads anticipated to finish in late spring or early summer 2023. Similar to Phase 1, it will include a variety of product types, including front drive lots in a variety of widths, laned lots, park and lake walkout lots, duplex lots and multi-family blocks. If you're looking to build your new home in this amazing community, be sure to contact a builder. Lots in Bison Run are purchased directly through the participating home builders and because of the popularity of this area, be prepared to be placed on a waitlist. However, if it's anything like Qualico Communities' other neighbourhoods, Bison Run will be well worth the wait. In the meantime, be sure to visit bisonrun.com for more information. "It's invigorating to see Bison Run's development gaining speed," says Ward. "I'm excited to see what the future holds for this community." QUALICO COMMUNITIES — BISON RUN "IT'S INVIGORATING TO SEE BISON RUN'S DEVELOPMENT GAINING SPEED. I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR THIS COMMUNITY." POH PUSHING FORWARD IN BISON RUN By Samara Funk 28 Parade of Homes FALL 2022