Designing with Nature in the Fraser Valley: The Cottages at Cultus Lake
The Cottages at Cultus Lake is a 230 single-family home resort community set on 60-forested acres, a 10-minute walk from the lake. “The developers have done a great job with narrow paving, grass pave parking, strip driveways and a high level of tree retention,” reports Alan Jonsson, Habitat Engineer with Fisheries & Oceans Canada. “The role of the road design is integral to the rest of the cottage concept…small houses, small roads
Design with Nature
Jon Van Geel and Dave Balsor are the developers behind The Cottages at Cultus Lake. They have been active in residential land development for more than 25 years. Both have been especially active in the Fraser Valley. The Cottages grew out of their shared vision for connecting the past with the future. In their words:
Summer at the cottage is the memory-making ground of childhood – not an escape from real life, but real life full of new and wondrous possibilities. The scent of cedar, a wood burning fireplace, the sounds of crickets and bullfrogs, brings it all back.
The setting is beyond idyllic, with a creek stocked with trout, blue heron and peacocks wandering about and sunsets blazing behind mountains. Beautifully forested with towering cedars, this cottage resort community is bordered by Frosst Creek, a Provincial Park and a golf course.
Posted June 2009