It seems quaint now, but in the fall of 1998, a story touting “cyberspace” as a source of information for homeowners noted that all you needed was a computer and a modem to tap into the World Wide Web. According to Statistics Canada, only 29.2 per cent of Manitoba households used a computer on a regular basis in 1997, but the interwebs were catching on in a big way, and screechy dial-up modems that tied up home phone lines were giving way to cable modems. A 1999 Shaw Cable ad boasted that cable modems were 100 times faster than “regular telephone access,” and visitors to the Parade of Homes could try out high-speed internet for themselves in six show homes. By the spring of 2008, entertainment units with built-in fireplaces were a thing, along with man caves furnished with beer fridges and big-screen TVs. All those extras didn’t come cheap. KDR Homes had the first Parade entry with a million-dollar price tag ($1.2 million to be precise), for a 4,500-square-foot show home in the new Bridgwater Forest neighbourhood with an in- ground swimming pool, three-car garage and built-in cappuccino maker, among other attractions.
Cont’d on page 14
Show Homes Aurora at North Point 87 Vega Street 14 Atlas Crescent Amber Gates 234 Tennant Gate Bonavista 28 Bow Water Drive Bridgwater Trails 197 Willow Creek Road
Devonshire Park 29 Tackaberry Way Ridgewood West 6 Joynson Crescent Sage Creek 14 Snowberry Circle
204.224.4243 info@kensingtonhomesltd.com
kensingtonhomesltd.com
Parade of Homes Spring 2018 13
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