Kylemore Communities unveils big plans in their 20th year!

Patrick O'Hanlon and Frank Spaziani of Kylemore Communities with members of the Stollery Family

Last weekend, we attended the 20th annual Angus Glen Community Party in Markham, hosted by Kylemore Communities. In addition to taking in the beautiful day and enjoying some lunch, we got a chance to chat with Kylemore President, Patrick O’Hanlon, about their 20 years in the industry.

The story of the award-winning Angus Glen community began in 1997. “We started it with Gordon Stollery, Frank Spaziani, and myself,” O’Hanlon explained. “We came here to oversee the planning for Angus Glen Community, but we quickly realized that to complete our vision we had to also build the homes ourselves.” Spaziani is Vice President of Kylemore, and he and O’Hanlon now work with sisters Cailey and Lindsay, third generation Stollerys.

“Kylemore is named after Kylemore Abbey in Connemara, Ireland, which is where I’m from,” O’Hanlon continued. “It’s a famous abbey and it’s my grandfather’s most treasured place to go. In Ireland, you name your house, ours was called St. Patrick’s - his house was called Kylemore. Years ago, my aunts and uncles gave me the original Kylemore plaque and it’s hanging in my office.”

Angus Glen Golf Club has two stunning championship courses. Surrounding the golf course is where in the past 20 years Kylemore has built more than 1,200 homes, including luxury boutique condos, elegant townhomes, executive detached homes, and opulent custom homes.

“The master-plan for Angus Glen community is inspired by new urbanism planning principles, which de-emphasize the garage and automobile, bringing the houses closer to the street with front porches that look out onto green space,” said O’Hanlon. “In this community, there are a third more trees than any other community, there’s more park space, every street ends in a vista, all of these things come together as a master-plan.”

“Next we focused on the homes, sourcing our own brick, providing steep roof pitches, increasing window sizes, and putting the quality where it could be seen,” he added. “At first, it was a challenge to sell from plans, but once people saw our houses, it just took off."

Kylemore has established a truly cohesive community. There are homes for all types of buyers from singles and couples to large families, they just completed The Shoppes of Angus Glen so residents have shops and services within walking distance, and there is plenty of space for outdoor recreation.  

“In 2013, we won the Places to Grow - Community of the Year Award from BILD (Building Industry and Land Development Association),” O’Hanlon pointed out as one of the most memorable moments of the last two decades. “There was a lot of hard work leading up to that point, so this was a culmination of all the energy and innovation that went into the plan. Today, this is a model community, and there are people who come from all over the world to tour Angus Glen.”

The Places to Grow Award recognizes communities that are prime examples of smart growth, environmental preservation, innovative site planning, promoting a recreational lifestyle, intelligent streetscape design, and architecture that exceeds industry standards.

What’s next for Kylemore Communities?

The 6th Angus Glen

The 6th Angus Glen has a few luxury suites remaining, with closings as soon as 90 days. Many of the suites offer views of the golf course, and there are resort style amenities, including a spacious outdoor terrace with infinity pool, whirlpool spa, concierge services within a breathtaking two-storey lobby, a billiards room, a lavish lounge, and a private dining room.

The big news that O’Hanlon spoke of was Kylemore’s purchase of the York Downs Golf and Country Club, just south of Angus Glen in Markham. Kylemore is partners with Minto and Metropia to develop a master-planned community of approximately 2,400 homes.

They are currently in the initial phases and O’Hanlon says that planning is going very well. Kylemore will be taking everything they learned in Angus Glen and applying it to this new community, which will eventually be connected to Angus Glen and be an extension of the award-winning neighbourhood.

Congratulations to Patrick O’Hanlon and the entire Kylemore team on hitting 20 years! We’re looking forward to following the development of York Downs.