451 Longworth Avenue and the Cowan’s Grove Community

In the past couple of months, I had the pleasure of selling 141 Orchestra Way: only the third HN Winfield to ever be sold on the resale market, whilst setting an 18-month price record for the new Riverside South area (south of Earl Armstrong Rd). While I was selling this home, I received a call from the owner of another Winfield, located in Cowan’s Grove, interested in putting their home up for sale. 451 Longworth is a one-of-a-kind home on the market, featuring 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, c. 4,300 sq. ft. of living space, thoughtfully-crafted interior finishes, and a backyard view unlike any other. You’ll fall in love with 451 Longworth Avenue as soon as you see it.

An Introduction to Findlay Creek and Cowan’s Grove The HN Winfield: Custom Features in a Production Home The Floorplan: Blending Traditional and Contemporary Layout Philosophies The Most Gorgeous Backyard Thoughtfully-Curated Interior Features Conclusion

An Introduction to Findlay Creek and Cowan’s Grove

Bank Street is one of Ottawa’s most critical arterial roads. Driving south past South Keys, you are first met by the expansive forests of the Ottawa Greenbelt. And then… you encounter Findlay Creek. This growing community of c. 14,000 is one of two major ongoing developments in Ottawa South, the other being Riverside South. Findlay Creek is a popular choice for a number of reasons: It is conveniently located close to local shopping & dining, as well as entertainment options including golf courses & the Rideau-Carleton race track. It is also incredibly close to nature, thanks to the greenbelt and open space surrounding the community. Last but not least, it is close to Ottawa’s downtown core, accessible in just 25 minutes in non-peak hours. The area is currently served by Gloucester High School but will be reallocated to New Riverside South Secondary School from Fall 2025.

Within Findlay Creek, you will find three primary subdivisions of interest. To the west (of Bank Street, heading south), there is the massive Findlay Creek Village & Pathways development, primarily built by Richcraft, EQ, Tamarack, Tartan and Phoenix. To the east, you will first encounter Claridge’s Lilythorne development. Then, discreetly tucked behind a neighbourhood shopping area… there is Cowan’s Grove.

Cowan’s Grove is Urbandale and HN’s luxury development in Cowan’s Grove, which is—in my opinion—one of the best-kept secrets of all of Ottawa South. The neighbourhood isn’t very well known outside of Findlay Creek locals & Urbandale & HN enthusiasts; the subdivision is entirely sold out, save for a few quick-possession single-family homes available through the builders. It is very low-density, consisting primarily of single-family homes on 35′, 44′, and 50′ lots. And what makes this neighbourhood so special is the surrounding greenspace: Cowan’s Grove is bordered on the south and east by nearly 50 acres of city-owned ponds, marshes and public parkland.

The homes facing this greenspace buffer, located on Shuttleworth Drive and Longworth Avenue, are some of the most luxurious single homes found in any Ottawa production home community: a huge number of 50′ models, including the HN Winfield and Urbandale 3-car garage Madison Park. There are even a number of custom floorplans, including a 60′ custom Urbandale on Shuttleworth and a 3-car garage HN Kenson (44′) immediately beside 451 Longworth Avenue. Based on transaction records, the average builder closing price of 50′ singles on Longworth Avenue’s south-facing side is in excess of $1.6 million, which makes it one of the most expensive streets in any Ottawa new production home neighbourhood.

This is truly one of the most incredible streets I have ever visited. Longworth Avenue is quietly tucked away in the most private corner of Cowan’s Grove, filled with large Urbandale & HN singles, only steps away from walking trails and beautiful greenspace views. This location underscores the magnificent home that is the focus of this article: 451 Longworth Avenue.

The HN Winfield: Custom Features in a Production Home

HN Homes is widely recognized as one of Ottawa’s top production builders; when HN entered the production home space in 2013, they partnered with renowned local architect Christopher Simmonds to bring the quality and architectural elegance of custom homes to production home designs. Known for his award-winning work designing custom homes, Simmonds’ collaboration with HN represented his first major partnership with a production builder. Simmonds crafted a line of contemporary homes perfect for the 21st-century family. The Winfield, sized for 50′ lots, is the largest of these HN Homes, measuring 3,626 sq. ft. above grade with a slew of unique design features.

The Winfield features a modern exterior elevation crafted with incredibile attention to detail. First, take note of the material choices: In contrast to most production homes, the Winfield has zero vinyl siding, instead featuring a diverse palette of premium exterior materials. These include premium brick, Hardie Board™, and Hardie Siding™. Hardie Board (above and below windows) and Hardie Siding are composite siding materials made of fibre cement: they are substantially stronger, better-looking, and consequently, more expensive than vinyl siding. In addition, Hardie products are fire resistant!

The home has substantial brick area on the rear—more than some builders are willing to put on their homes’ front elevations. The Winfield features a cedar soffit under the front porch (rarely seen in production homes) and a large number of oversized corner windows (even rarer in production homes). Rounding things out is an expansive flat roof covering the rear garden home: flat roofs are substantially more expensive than sloped roofs as they are generally fully framed and load-bearing, while sloped roofs are built of manufactured roof trusses. The main benefit: the flat roof allows for expansive rear-facing windows for the master bathroom & walk-in closet, where a sloped roof would not allow for any window at all.

HN Homes’ extraordinary attention to detail extends to the interior of the home. 451 Longworth comes with a number of luxurious interior features, anchored by the central feature staircase positioned at the center of the kitchen, living & dining, and den spaces. This open stairwell opens to a spacious open-to-above, combined with the 3-storey open column at the center of the staircase. To highlight the modern architecture of the home, HN uses a unique glass railing & halfwall railing design. This helps avoid the large mess of railings and posts found in most Ottawa, further highlighting the Winfield’s unique and contemporary architectural design style.

The Floorplan: Blending Traditional and Contemporary Layout Philosophies

451 Longworth Avenue features a layout that originates from traditional Ottawa home design: formal living & dining on one side, kitchen & breakfast at the rear, and informal family room (in this case, a media den) on the other. But Christopher Simmonds has innovated upon these traditional design principles to create a functional and beautiful home: a modern interpretation of classic Ottawa home design.

Winfield PDF

The Winfield has a traditional 3-part layout at the front: 20′ wide two-car garage, spacious foyer & staircase feature, and the living & dining rooms. Each space is separated through the selective placement of partition walls and doorways. And yet, the home feels huge, an effect achieved through long and straight sight lines which reveal the true width & depth of the home. These sight lines connect the major spaces within the home: the living room, dining room, media den, and garden room, all of which are sized generously.

These spaces reveal another major advantage of 451 Longworth’s floorplan: the flexible use options. For instance, the family living in 451 Longworth Avenue has chosen to use the dining room as an entertainment room (complete with pool table), and the media den as a dining room.

The chef’s kitchen is strategically placed at the center of the home, serving as a central “nexus” for the whole family. Imagine preparing a meal here, entertaining guests, enjoying a coffee at the coffee bar, or watching your kids doing their homework at the oversized kitchen island: this space is truly the home’s central gathering point.

And beyond the kitchen lies the most unique part of the home: the 10′ raised ceiling garden room. The home replaces a traditional breakfast area with 27′ x 13′ combined family & breakfast room, complete with 25 linear feet of 9′ tall windows. The total glazed area in the Garden room is well over 200 sq. ft, which exceeds the total window area in some townhomes.

Upstairs, you will find a voluminous open stairwell area, anchored by a cozy loft facing the front yard, with an oversized window letting in tons of natural light for the second level common area.

The master bedroom faces the backyard, complete with a corner window, walk-in closet, and luxury 5-piece bathroom with prime pond views. One other bedroom facing the backyard is currently used as a home office. Two additional bedrooms face the front yard, and one of them has an ensuite bathroom. The second floor also includes an additional bathroom and a laundry room.

The Most Gorgeous Backyard

Speaking of views… 451 Longworth Avenue faces the Cowan’s Grove ponds and greenspace. The views are… wow. You won’t believe it until you come and see it for yourself—it is even more beautiful than in the photos. 451 Longworth Avenue sits on a southwest-facing pie lot measuring over 6,600 sq. ft, 30% larger than your typical cookie-cutter 50′ lot. In reality, once factoring for the home’s positioning on the lot, 451 Longworth has nearly twice as much usable backyard space as the typical lot. In addition, this home’s lot is elevated, with roughly 1.5m of concrete retaining wall separating it from its neighbour, 447 Longworth Avenue. This substantial elevation provides the home with unobstructed views of the greenspace, with improved privacy by not directly backing the walking trail.

Thoughtfully-Curated Interior Features

The owners of 451 Longworth Avenue have included premium interior finishes to complete a one-of-a kind luxury home. The entire first floor is adorned with red oak flooring, which extends to both basement and 2nd floor staircases plus the 2nd-floor hallway.

Within the kitchen, you will find a tremendous amount of premium finishes. The custom cabinet full-height crown moulding cost over 5 grand alone. On top of that, there are glass display cabinets with built-in lighting, herringbone tile backsplash, quartz counters, and stainless steel appliances.

The master bathroom includes premium floor tile, freestanding tub, custom 5′ walk-in shower with subway tile & quartz sill, and a vanity cabinet between the dual sinks on the quartz-countered vanity.

Finally, there are the small details, from the marble tile & granite waterfall mantel on the 46″ linear fireplace, the 8′ doors with lever handles, the partially electric blinds throughout, to the upgraded light switches… every interior feature has been selected with utmost attention to detail, further underscoring this home’s modern & classic design style.

And of course, there are the features you cannot easily see, including the 200-amp electrical service and the two sets of independent AC/heating units. That’s right: 451 Longworth Avenue has an independent basement temperature control system. This means that you can optimize your home’s temperature controls all year round.

Conclusion

This home is truly one of the most luxurious and beautiful HN homes to ever hit the resale market. If you want to make this home yours, don’t hesitate to reach out! Call Guan Guan at 613-618-6437 to schedule YOUR private tour.

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