StreetSide Developments and Qualico Communities Clean Up at Edmonton's Homebuilder Awards

Edmonton, AB – StreetSide Developments Edmonton and Qualico Communities Edmonton earned seven awards and three awards, respectively, at this year’s Canadian Home Builders’ Association – Edmonton Region Awards of Excellence event.

StreetSide Developments Edmonton took home the awards for Most Home Sales, Best Multi-Family Under $250,000, Best Multi-Family Under $300,000, Best Multi-Family $300,000 to $350,000, Best Multi-Family $350,000 to $400,000, Best Apartment Building, and Multi-Family Builder of the Year.

Nicholas Carels, Vice-President, StreetSide Developments Edmonton, said his team aims to create homes that optimize and balance livability, affordability, and desirability.

“Being nominated and winning in each of these categories, while also selling the most homes in Edmonton, affirms that we have found that balance,” said Nicholas. “The awards demonstrate how desirable these homes are in their respective price points and the volume of sales shows that the market of homebuyers we’re targeting agrees with the judges.”

Maintaining a solid relationship with local developers, including Qualico Communities, to create a strong and unique land position; having the continued trust and strength of Qualico and its executive team to help make ideas a reality; and leveraging the skills and dedication of the StreetSide Developments and designQ Edmonton team, most notably, Senior Designer, Madison Casson, for all helping the business unit create award-winning homes, according to Nicholas.

In addition to having the right homes for the market, Nicholas said the awards also highlight that StreetSide Developments Edmonton has the right strategy – the cornerstone of which is to keep moving forward and learning from past projects.

“In no way is this award a symbol of reaching a destination,” said Nicholas, “but it’s validation that we are driving down the right road. Innovation isn’t done at a time or place; rather, it’s a continual curiosity to formulate the next great home and the willingness to do the work and take the risk to bring it to the market. Qualico’s vertical integration allows us to execute on those opportunities, as opposed to the next award-winning home just being a sketch sitting on someone’s desk.”

With StreetSide Developments Edmonton having a smaller sales team, winning the Most Home Sales award was an especially big achievement for Vanessa Freeman, Director, Sales and Marketing, StreetSide Developments Edmonton, and team. Of all the accolades the business unit received, Vanessa said this award will drive the entire team to continue creating.

“When you draft up something that isn’t currently available in the market and it’s successful, there is nothing more validating,” said Vanessa. “I can tell you the day after the award wins, our team was already designing a new home we’re excited about.”

Vanessa noted that getting everything ready for the award submissions often takes a great deal of time and effort, with help from others on the team.

“We tell the story of why a home or community is innovative, what’s attractive about it, and why it deserves to be recognized,” she said. “I am lucky enough to be on the ground level at the point of conception for every one of our floor plans, so the ‘why’ behind each submission is easy for me. The homes that our team puts together provide me with a lot of great content to work with.”

Qualico Communities Edmonton also scooped up multiple awards at this year’s Awards of Excellence event, including Best Showhome Parade, Best Print Advertising Campaign, and Best Radio Commercial Campaign.

Emily Stamper, Marketing Coordinator, Qualico Communities Edmonton, said being recognized by the industry is a sign of success.

“These awards are proof of our team’s hard work and success in creating and promoting our communities,” said Emily. “It shows the quality of our work and dedication to creating the best communities possible for people to live in.”

The business unit’s Blooming Showhomes in Aster direct mail piece, which promoted the grand opening event in May 2023, won the Best Print Advertising Campaign award. The flower-shaped direct mail piece with the Aster logo was printed on wildflower seed paper that could be planted, matching the floral theme of the event and marketing creative. It also included a biodegradable flower pot containing a soil disk for planting.

Qualico Communities Edmonton’s radio commercial for The Uplands at Riverview took home the Best Radio Commercial Campaign award. The “Up-Linds or Up-Lands” commercial was a fun take on advertising a lot promotion that allowed buyers to save up to $12,000 on select lots in the community.

The Uplands at Riverview community also earned the team the Best Showhome Parade award, with nine showhomes from seven different builders included in the parade. Emily noted that the team kept the awards in mind from a very early stage when planning the showhome parade to ensure it looked as good as possible.

Some of the attributes that helped make The Uplands at Riverview’s showhome parade stand out were the variety of products including executive homes, single-family front attached garage homes, and single-family rear lane homes; extra attention to detail when it came to landscaping and architecture, with stone pavers and driveway planters; unique illuminated laser-cut signs with the builder name and community logo; and carefully planned photos that were part of the award submission.

“Showhome parades are often some of the first glimpses prospective buyers will get of the community they are looking to call home,” said Emily, “so having the claim to the best showhome parade in the region makes a good impression on buyers, presenting a clean and beautiful product and community.”

Congratulations to both StreetSide Developments Edmonton and Qualico Communities Edmonton for their well-deserved recognition at this year’s Canadian Home Builders’ Association – Edmonton Region Awards of Excellence event!