The 2020 Training House in Valleyview will be handed over to the Kamloops Y at the end of the month (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

2020 TRAINING HOUSE

2020 Training House complete, Y Dream Home tickets to go on sale in April

Mar 6, 2020 | 4:45 PM

KAMLOOPS — The 2020 Training House is finished and in the coming weeks the keys will be handed over to the Kamloops YMCA-YWCA.

The occupancy permit was officially given to the Canadian Home Builders’ Association Central Interior, paving the way for the beginning of the Y Dream Home program. It may not be the biggest ever at 3,000 square feet, but like many of the homes built it has modern features. The 2020 Training House is also among the most energy-efficient homes out there.

“It has a lot of those [energy-efficient] features like extra insulation, high-efficiency mechnicals, and also even the amount of window-to-wall ratio,” said President of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association Central Interior Kelly Reid. “They’re all big factors in that energy effiency.”

The Y Dream Home is at Orchards Walk, a newer community in Valleyview that has been developing in the last couple years. The home is in the midst of single-family homes already built with more to come.

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“Orchards Walk is a community that will have its own shopping. We just finished the community centre, which is available to only the Orchards Walk community,” said Project Manager of the 2020 Training House and Vice-President of Operations for Orchards Walk Jere Lorenz. “We wanted to have it in the area where we’re starting on the larger single-family homes. We have 37 single-family lots, so there are 35 left now.”

The home is part of a bareland strata. The home builders’ association says that is trending in Kamloops for new builds.

“That represents the market in Kamloops and what’s going to be an option for a lot of families to be able to get into the housing market,” said Reid. “And it’s low-rise type construction with a small yard, which is very desirable for families. It fits in well with the housing continuum.”

This is the kitchen of the soon-to-be Y Dream Home (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

It’s the 30th home built by construction students at TRU. The longstanding partnership between the university and home builders’ association has been a win-win for everyone.

“It’s given our residential construction students an opportunity to get real hands-on experience in the real world, something we can’t necessarily replicate at the university,” TRU Dean of Trades and Technology Baldev Pooni.

Reid added, “It’s just an incredible thing to celebrate. It really speaks to the support of the community and all the people that have partnered on this before us.”

The home has four bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms. The keys will be given to the Kamloops Y at the end of March. Tickets for the Y Dream Home go on sale April 7 with open houses beginning Easter weekend.