The Qualico Difference

It’s true. Qualico does approach the business of community development differently. But no amount of flowery language here can ever hope to convey that difference. An actual example is called for.

It was the Spring of 2002. And Qualico had recently acquired the property now known as the community of Crestmont. As part of the normal course of our dream and discovery process, our development team routinely walked the land well before the ground had been broken.

On one such occasion, a development manager was walking the boundary early in the morning. She wanted to get a better feel for where the sun would rise over the new community. In her rush to beat the sun, she had left home without eating and without the requisite clothing for the chilly wind blowing from the north. And half way around she began to feel hungry and cold.

That’s when it dawned on her that she wouldn’t be the only person who’d want to walk the community’s majestic treeline at that magical hour of the morning. In the future, when the community was built, there would be others who might also miss breakfast or forget a layer of clothing. Hikers, joggers and dog walkers who would appreciate some unexpected sustenance and shelter.

And the next morning she was back, her pockets filled with blueberry seeds.

Today you will see blueberry bushes form the northern windbreak of this community. But they never appeared on any community blueprint or plan. They weren’t planted there by a landscaper, nor scattered there by the wind or some migratory bird. They are a living example of the little things that make the big picture work, make dreams a reality and make Qualico so different.