Rosehaven Homes celebrates 25 years of excellence
By Lucas on May 31, 2017
2017 marks the 25th anniversary of Rosehaven Homes, one of the Greater Toronto Area’s (GTA) most distinguished and well respected builders. You can learn a lot being in the industry for that long, so we got in touch with President of Rosehaven Homes, Marco Guglietti, to discuss the last two decades and the decades to come.
Marco and his brother, Silvio, started Rosehaven Homes on July 10, 1992. Their first project was a community of 20 lots in Waterdown. More than 6,000 homes later, Rosehaven Homes is the proud recipient of many awards and have several repeat buyers, many owning their third or fourth Rosehaven home. Rosehaven’s communities feature singles, semis, freehold townhomes, condo townhomes, as well as mid- and high-rise condos.
Rosehaven is a family owned and operated business. Even the first lots in Waterdown were purchased by Marco and Silvio’s father, Giovanni, from his brother-in-law, Fred DeGasperis. Today, Silvio is President of Melrose Investments, the land and industrial development side of the family business.
Marco credits his parents, Giovanni and Concetta, for instilling crucial attributes for success, like integrity, respect, and fair play. Since childhood, Marco has been deeply involved in the family business. When he was in high school, he worked for his father’s lumber business. While he was attending York University, he worked for his uncle’s new home development company, taking on many roles from labourer to site supervisor.
Newinhomes.com (NIH): When it comes to home building, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned in the last 25 years?
Marco Guglietti (MG): Knowing and understanding our buyers has been a huge valuable lesson. We’ve gotten better at it every year. We know what they prefer and appreciate from a design and planning perspective, as well as the desired locations. We work hard to understand the areas where we build, whether it’s in Oakville, Brampton, west, east, north, or south. Buyers’ needs and wants are always changing, and we’ve become very adaptable.
NIH: What would you say is Rosehaven’s proudest moment?
MG: One of the proudest moments would be winning the 2013 OHBA Most Outstanding High-Rise or Mid-Rise Condo suites for The Randall Residences in Oakville. The Randall is under construction and we’re releasing the final nine suites this fall.
And just being in the business for 25 years. That’s a major accomplishment for us. We’re selling and building more than we ever have. We’re doing the right things and we’ve become a sought after builder. We have many repeat homeowners - third, fourth time - and it’s not just for investment opportunities. Families live in one of our current communities, hear about a new site and they decide to move with us.
NIH: Over the last 25 years, how has Rosehaven stood apart from other builders?
MG: From a design standpoint, we’ve always been a higher-end option compared to our general competition. We design better curb appeal (elevations, exterior design). There’s a difference in our architecture, the use of materials, articulations, and interior finishes.
NIH: What’s your take on the state of the market right now?
MG: Price points are reaching a ceiling in certain areas of the GTA. There's been added increase in land home values due to high demand and short supply. But, there are still good deals and room for people to make good investments, more so on the outside of the GTA.
We have a new release coming to a site in Ancaster this fall, and also in Stoney Creek. I am also excited about our new high-rise project (14 and 18 storeys) in Grimsby on the waterfront at Casablanca. We’re releasing more info about that project later this fall.
NIH: How is Rosehaven preparing for the next 25 years?
MG: We dedicated the last 25 years to our parents, they helped us create our values, working with integrity. The next 25 years are dedicated to my dear daughter, Connie, who sadly passed away.
We’re continuing with our success with our current and new homeowners, and continue to be engaged with them and ensure we’re finding the best areas to build family communities. We’ll continue to define and refine our housing styles, and we’re getting more into mid-rise and high-rise projects and infill communities.
Rosehaven is more than its owners; we have a fantastic leadership team, many of which have been with us for most of the 25 years, two of them are celebrating 20 years with us this year. We have a very dedicated staff from supervisors to all construction teams, and all of head office.
Marco Guglietti
Over the last 25 years, Rosehaven Homes has supported numerous charitable and nonprofit organizations, contributing more than $1.5 million to Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, $1.5 million to the SickKids Foundation, $500,000 to Villa Colombo, $250,000 to the Oakville Hospital Foundation, and many others.
The Guglietti family’s new initiative is the We Love You Connie Foundation. Marco and wife, Michela, sadly lost their eldest daughter, Connie, to a brainstem tumor called D.I.P.G. The fundraising for We Love You Connie will go directly to support Pediatric Neuro-Oncology, providing help for future sick kids and their families.
