Habitat Studio - Celebrates 30 Years

We Turn Your Vision into Reality

by Nerissa McNaughton

Habitat Studio Celebrates 30 Years

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abitat Studio designs and builds beautiful custom energy efficient homes.

There are many custom home builders in Edmonton, but how many have a solid 5/5 rating from clients on Houzz, along with outstanding reviews and plenty of happy testimonials by homeowners on Facebook, Google and HomeStars? Let’s also not overlook the A+ BBB rating and 0 complaints on that consumer platform. So, what makes this company different and how are they revolutionizing the custom home building process in Edmonton?

“It’s all the extra things we do in addition to the actual home building,” confides Trevor Hoover, President. “It’s also because we build and design at all price points and for homes of all sizes. Our partnership group is different.

From day one the company has always been about collaboration, relationships and partnerships, not just with our clients but also among our leadership, trades, team and contractors. We are a true custom home builder in every sense of the word.”

Habitat Studio’s story started in 1992 when it was founded

by Bruce Watt and Vince Campbell. Watt was designing homes at the time and needed someone to make sure they were built according to his design. Campbell was a carpenter.

The two had a synergy about them and the rest is history.

In 1994, Peter Amerongen joined the partnership. Growth continued at a steady, sustainable pace, allowing Karen Dolan and Norm Perrin to become directors in 2000. That was also the year Habitat was proud to start offering profit sharing to its employees.

By the early 2000s, the company was growing fast. A landmark project, Riverdale Greenhouse Development, was underway in 2002 and Hoover became a director in 2004. Two years later Habitat Studio had outgrown its location and moved to a larger space, making the jump from Whyte Ave to 80 Ave. Habitat Studio has always been on the leading edge of sustainability, which is why in 2007 the company obtained

Habitat Studio • Celebrates 30 years • 2

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a Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) grant to build one of 12 net zero homes in Canada. In 2009 Habitat achieved building and was awarded for Canada’s closest net zero home of the year. By 2011 they built Alberta’s third LEED platinum home. Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA), who Habitat Studio joined in 2011, has recognized the company and its leadership with awards since 2012 and every year thereafter. They have also achieved national awards as Net Zero Champion of the year, Net Zero product of the year, and award for environmental sustainability.

It’s not just here at home the company strives for social and environmental change. By 2008 they started the first of several trips to Central America to charitably build homes for deserving families. By 2010, the trips became an annual tradition. The tradition of charitable giving and being community minded isn’t limited to overseas. Habitat Studio is active with The Mustard Seed and other local non-profit organization focused on feeding and homing those in need.

As the company grew, the leadership expanded. Hoover, Dolan and Perrin became partners as Watt stepped back and retired.

In 2013 there was another big change. Campbell was set to retire the next year; Habitat rebranded and launched a full-time interior design department. Two years later another milestone was achieved. Dolan, who retired in 2015 (followed by Amerongen in 2018) witnessed the company

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move to the 105 Ave downtown location – a move necessary due to the ongoing growth and success of the brand.

Edmonton was changing rapidly in 2018 with the economic and political situation in a state of flux. But that didn’t slow Habitat Studio down one bit. Rick Young and Jason Hoover became equal partners and growth continued at a rapid pace. The landscape and solar

departments were added in 2019 and despite a global pandemic and the challenges that brought, Habitat had to move again to a larger location, this time settling for good on 60 Ave. There are no plans in place to slow down. The sustainable growth continues, fueled by consumer demand for Habitat’s one-of-a-kind service and custom homes.

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“Our aim is to lead Edmonton and Canada in energy efficient homes and design,” says Hoover.

He continues, “Our core values are a big part of our success. Those values include integrity, organization, excellence, innovation and safety. We do everything in-house: design, permits, construction drawings, interior design, construction management, landscape design, landscaping construction, solar design and install. There is a strong emphasis on honest conversations and transparency throughout the entire process, from start to finish. This allows us to provide true custom designs, starting with a blank paper for every project. Each and every homeowner gets our full attention to detail and quality work.”

Habitat Studio is pleased to be a custom builder that empowers homeowners to be as energy efficient as they would like, including net zero or off grid.

“All construction is well above the Alberta and National Building codes. Our homes stand the test of time from design to quality of construction. We try to push design to the next level as much as possible and create design features that are unique and trendsetting; not necessarily trend following,” Hoover adds.

“We’ve never stopped renovations. We’ve purposely always stayed with new homes and renovations. Each time our leadership changes they bring new ideas and we grow. We grow our leadership internally.”

Despite attaining the formula for success, Habitat refuses to offer cookie-cutter solutions – the successful formula is applied, instead, to unique designs for every project.

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Hoover explains, “We’ve never designed or built the same house twice. Our clientele embraces the opportunity to reinvent the wheel for every project. We always create a custom home that is as unique as anyone’s imagination.”

Just some of the exciting innovations Habitat Studio has put into homes include an adjustable awning solar overhang,

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chlorination water plant reusing fully treated rainwater, unique stair designs (such as glass stairs and treads), an underground gym, tunnels from the house to the garage (who doesn’t want to be Batman?), custom millwork and built-ins and a ground mounted solar array that tracks the sun. Basically, if it can be dreamed up, it can be done by Habitat Studio.

Another challenging aspect Habitat addresses head on is the rate of growth.

“We’ve worked at keeping it slow and steady, never taking on something we can’t handle or biting off more than we can chew, so to speak, despite our desire to keep ahead of everyone else. For example, we used to be one of the only ones doing energy efficiency. Now we are proud to have led by example in that aspect of homebuilding.”

“I love how the residential construction community supports this city and the community. I do not know another sector that gets together to support different charities, events and pull together as a team, even though we are all competition,” he admits.

Although Habitat Studio has been awarded and recognized numerous times for innovation and environmentally conscious building by noteworthy organizations and associations, the brand is humble and considers every build of equal importance; from the ground breaking builds that introduced a number of

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Hoover loves working with the team and takes great pride in the reputation of the company. He enjoys showing homeowners that building their dream home can be an exciting journey and the process can be smooth and hassle-free. He’s also a big fan of being able to do all this in the capital city.

“firsts” in the city to the builds that are so impressive in scale that it’s hard to not just stop and stare – right down to the quieter designs where the owners will age in place gracefully, thankful to have their perfect forever home.

“We are incredibly thankful to all of our clients, our team, the newest iteration of the partnership group, our contractors and our community partners,” concludes Hoover. “The plan moving forward is to just keep our heads up and our stick on the ice! We continue to grow

sustainably; improve constantly; listen to the needs of our city, clients, and community and be leaders in the custom home and energy efficient space.”

Learn more about Habitat Studio by visiting www.habitatstudio.com and by visiting them on LinkedIn. The company is also active on Instagram and TikTok (@habitatstudio) and Facebook (@HabitatStudioEdmonton). See what customers are saying on Houzz (www.houzz.com/pro/ habitatstudioandworkshop).

9842 – 60 Avenue Edmonton AB, Canada, T6E 0C5 Tel: 780.433.1107 Email: yourhabitat@habitat-studio.com habitat-studio.com

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Congratulations Habitat Studio!

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