Designing the Serviceberry, a detached home aimed at older homebuyers who comprise many of the customers in the town of Brighton Ont., has not only led to sales success for Gordon Tobey Developments. It also led to national recognition.

At the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) 2025 National Awards for Housing Excellence, Serviceberry took top spot in the best detached production home 1,800- to 2,100-square-foot category. The honour left the company's owner both “thrilled” and “a little bit humbled.”

“The Serviceberry was a new model. We wanted a model that was upscale. It had all of our features that we offered in it," said Stephen Tobey, builder developer at Gordon Tobey Developments, in an interview with RENX Homes. "It was a way to showcase exactly what you could do with the top dog."

The winning design and its name were inspired by elements of nature in the small community on Lake Ontario, that’s located roughly midway between Toronto and Kingston. It comes in full- or no-basement designs that are 2,060 square feet.

“All of our houses are named after something that’s in the neighbourhood. We have Monarch and Aspen and Limestone," he said. "We have the Katsura, the Northern Oak, the Hickory, the Birch and so on and the Serviceberry is a beautiful tree with white flowers in the spring. When we build this house, it gets a series of white Serviceberry trees in the front."

Hamilton Woods focused on older homebuyers

The homes are part of a new, 135-unit development called Hamilton Woods. Pricing ranges from $650,000 for a townhome, to singles from $750,000, and full-basement houses from $850,000.

It’s proven attractive with older homebuyers, he said, which Tobey Developments breaks into three categories.

“That’s 55 to 65 and they usually take a full-basement house. It’s got the rec space and two big-screen TVs and the extra-large garage with two cars," Tobey said, adding that "sometimes they’ll have kids that are half in the house, and half out of the house."

Moving up, there are older buyers who might be dealing with mobility issues: “The next category is what we call people who are 65 to 75: they’re concerned about longevity in the house and ease of mobility.”

Finally, the builder offers even more manageable properties for its most senior age grouping.

“A third category is 75 to 85 who want less: they want less grass to cut. They want less house to maintain; less house to clean, and less cost upfront. Those are our no-basement townhouses that are the most appealing for them,” he said.

Gordon Tobey's company history

The multi-generational firm was started by Gordon Tobey, who began building homes in the community in 1976. Stephen joined the company in 1990 and he currently runs it with his wife, Heather.

The firm has built approximately 400 homes, and currently constructs a dozen or more annually. It generally builds in and around its home base, offering both subdivisions and custom home development.

Tobey is finding success today by realizing not everybody wants the biggest home.

“For a while there, there was 'more is more', but I find that as the economy slows and people think about their future, they don’t necessarily need 'more is more'. The no-basement house has been a real winner,” Tobey explained.

As well, it has begun offering more accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, with certain models.

“It may be an additional dwelling unit for grandma for a period of time, and then it turns into a garage in the future. It may be for a child who’s still at home. And it could be a garage in the future, or it could be a rental," he said.

"The advantage that we have is our Serviceberry model has this in it: it’s all on one level. You have a complete house all to yourself, and you have that ability to have multiple generations on the same property.”

Lots adjusted to accommodate housing style

Incorporating these types of homes into Hamilton Woods meant the company had to modify some layouts.

“We took our pie-shaped lots and we widened them, not that we widened them on the street so much (as) that we increased the angle in them," he explained. "If you had a lot that was previously 18 degrees, we went to 21 degrees and you got slightly less number of properties overall.

"But because you were getting two-in-one, you were actually getting more properties. It just opened up a whole new realm of possibility.”

Working with local officials is seamless in Brighton, Tobey said, a situation builders in other, less accommodating municipalities might be just a bit jealous about.

"The staff at the (municipal) office is relaying what the province is telling: We want houses built efficiently and effectively, and we don’t want major delays," he said. "We want stuff to happen like it should happen.”

Tobey also sees promise in new housing initiatives from the federal government.

“Our biggest challenges seem to be supply and cost. With the increased interest rates, it’s thrown a few people out of the market," Tobey said. "The federal government's made some incentives here to bring some people on fold, so we’re optimistic that the year coming, we’ll have more product changing hands.”