Air Ranch in Okotoks, just south of Calgary, is one of the most unusual residential communities in Canada: one which allows its residents the luxury of landing personal aircraft on a 3,100 foot private airstrip, right in their back yards.
Formally established in 2005, it was Canada’s first private airpark, the ultimate commuter town for aerospace enthusiasts and a playground for wealthy aircraft owners. But last month the community’s lofty mission had a rather bumpy landing as the airstrip handed over its operating licence to Transport Canada in the face of safety concerns.
For the owner of one of the community’s unique properties, a custom-built 3,000-square-foot European-style cedar home complete with 60-by-60-foot heated aircraft hangar, it’s just another bout of turbulence in a two-year quest to secure a sale.
“It was, and I guess still is, my dream home,” says Sean Clarke, a German-born geophysicist, entrepreneur and aviation enthusiast, who immigrated to Canada in 1983. “It was the first house to be built there, back in 2001, and it was the only one for a few years, which was pretty nice.”
The 47-year-old’s ambition was to build a structurally insulated panel house and aircraft hangar, using cedar wood and traditional post and beam design.
“I built the hangar first and that’s where I lived for a long time,” he admits, “but of course I didn’t tell the city that. Then the Air Ranch community said ‘You know, you can’t just build a hangar, you have to build a house as well. We’re trying to create a community here.’ So I finally built the house a few years later.”
Mr. Clarke’s business has since taken him to live in the Philippines where he’s opened an aviation school teaching advanced aviation manoeuvres and acrobatics to pilots. He’s now married and has a family there, but his affections still lie firmly with his Okotoks aircraft hangar.
“The hangar is awesome. It’s a wonderful utility, an incredible structure and a beautiful building,” he says. “The house was really only ever a pretty ornament to go with it.”
It is undoubtedly an aviation lover’s dream, enjoying a premium position adjacent to the runway on its own acre of land, which means the owner can land a plane, taxi it to his own private garage and stroll to his front door. It also boasts a kitchen, bathroom and 900-square-foot mezzanine living area, in case, like Mr. Clarke, you felt like taking up residence.
“It was extremely expensive to build,” says Mr. Clarke. “About $1.2-million as I remember. But when it’s your dream home, only the best will do. The kit for the hangar cost way more than the kit for the house, but the house took longer to build so they cost about the same in the end.”
That the hangar is the best that money can build is clear; it features slab heating, a 46-centimetre concrete floor and has a clear span design with no interior supports, which can accommodate up to three aircraft. It has two six-metre-wide doors with a sliding centre beam on the runway side and its wiring is warranted for shop operation with its own separate circuit board.
It also features a crimped steel panel roof, as does the house, chosen because crimping the panels avoids drilling holes and drilling holes can lead to rust.
“The owner is a real perfectionist,” says Mr. Clarke’s agent Don Blocka, of Sotheby’s Realty who’s been tasked with selling the property. “You have to admire that. It’s a feat of design and engineering. I’ve been out there in the dead of winter and the hangar is comfortably heated. Every aspect has been a very considered decision.”
And, like his hangar, Mr. Clarke’s “pretty ornament” of a home, is also precision engineered; a careful balance of practical and picturesque with seven-metre-high ceilings.
“The curb appeal on this home is pretty incredible,” says Mr. Blocka. “There’s no doubt about it. If you like the look of a character home, you’ll love this property.
“The kitchen is a European kitchen, which is set up for food preparation and storage rather than entertaining and gathering. The main gathering and eating space in the house is the Great Room. Off this room is the master suite while the bedrooms for the children are located upstairs where there’s also another entertaining room.”
The layout of the house is one of the things Mr. Blocka says is hindering interested parties from making an offer.
“It definitely confuses buyers used to a North American layout,” he says.
But the house’s unconventionalities don’t end there. It also features an impressive ground-floor hobby room with a concrete floor and extra-wide, custom steel doors complete with a dog shower for the discerning pet owner.
“The hobby room is specifically for working on motorbikes and other smaller vehicles. Or for washing the dog,” explains Mr. Blocka.
“It’s unusual to have so many unique aspects altogether in one home,” he adds. But Mr. Blocka doesn’t believe that’s the only thing hindering an offer.
“The property has attracted a number of buyers for a number of different reasons, including someone looking for a large art gallery, a buyer with a car collection and one with a helicopter. The hangar has space for 12 cars easily and that’s pretty interesting for someone who’s paying a lot to store their collection.
“But the price point is the first qualifier. It definitely steps out of line in Okotoks and even in the Air Ranch community.”
Average selling prices in Air Ranch are typically 65-per-cent higher than Okotoks at $825,000.
“The property was originally listed for just under $3-million,” explains Mr. Blocka. “And if the market was respectable it should command just over $2-million, so at the current price of just over $1.5-million, it offers exceptional value.
“If this property was in Vancouver we’d be talking $7.5-million, $5-million for Toronto.”
Price aside, both Mr. Clarke and Mr. Blocka recognize that without an operating airport, the purchase of a house with an aircraft hangar could be hard for any buyer to justify.
The closing, which came into effect mid-April, is currently a temporary 180-day closing but many are questioning whether the airport can afford to make the regulatory fixes required to reopen.
“It’s quite surreal,” says Mr. Clarke. “I mean, it’s an airport. If it’s closed, what do you do with it? There are 380 airparks in the States, all really successful communities, but it never really worked in Canada for some reason. I think Canadians are perhaps a little too conservative for the concept and there aren’t enough aircraft owners there.”
Meanwhile, his aircraft hangar home has been relisted as having an “impressive garage” until the issue is resolved.
Mr. Blocka remains optimistic that a sale will materialize for the home.
“It’ll be a Flames hockey player with lots of cars looking for a home with character or an executive with lots of toys to house or another artisan or perfectionist who appreciates this kind of design and engineering,” he says.
But he admits selling someone else’s dream can be a tough gig for an agent.
“For sure, it’s not easy when there’s that level of customization and personality tied up in a property. But I look at it as a piece of art. And a great piece of art can hang on someone else’s wall. It’s a narrow market, even more so now the airport’s in trouble, but it’s still a market.”