A select number of local builders have been handpicked to bring the master planned vision for Ginninderry to life. All of the builders were assessed against a number of criteria, in particular their desire and ability to add to the vision for Ginninderry, as well as offering exceptional value for money and quality.

Our weekly Meet the Builders series will help you to get to know our builders ahead of the release of their house and land packages for sale in 2017.

In our fifth question and answer of the series, we speak with Matthew Smith from Gracious Living Constructions.

Give us a bit of background on you, your company and your story to date.

Gracious Living is a local company with a proven record of over 16 years building quality homes. We use local suppliers whenever possible and have assembled a team of contractors that are second to none in the region. Unlike some other companies, the owners of Gracious Living live here in Canberra, and are the same people that you will be dealing with day-to-day during the construction of your new home.

At Gracious Living, our systems are tailored to assist our clients through every stage of their new home from land purchase and design through to completion and handover. We have over thirty home designs and are continually developing others. We also offer a custom design service for those clients who prefer an individual design.

Display homes have been an integral part of our business as they allow us to showcase to potential clients the workmanship and detailed inclusions that make our homes so unique. Over the past 16 years we have built and operated 10 display homes in Jerrabomberra, Elmslea, Harrison, Forde, Bonner, and more recently in Wright, Coombs and Moncrieff.

What type of homes will you be involved in building at Ginninderry?

We will be offering a wide range housing solutions for standard residential blocks. We are also planning to be involved in rear lane options, whether they be single dwellings blocks or multi-unit blocks that allow two dwellings on the one block, one of which is a unit above a double or triple garage.

In 2015 we won the HIA Chef Minister’s Affordable Housing Award for a project in Jacka and we have recently completed another affordable housing project in Moncrieff. We are keen to continue with any opportunities there may be in Ginninderry with offering quality affordable housing packages.

What do you think makes the Ginninderry development different?

A complete vision and plan for the whole development from the start. By doing this the developer has ensured a consistency of design and has incorporated environmental initiatives. Ginninderry also is a wonderful and unique location, with proximity to the river and views to the mountains – unlike any other development in the region.

Why did you want to be involved in this development?

We are excited to be working with the Ginninderry team from the start, a wonderful estate design and vison for the future. This is a long term development that in time may even cross the border and we hope to be involved for many years to come.

What do you love about working in construction?

As contract home builders our aim is to deliver a quality home to a happy client. Although it is bound to be stressful at times, we believe building a home should be an enjoyable experience for the owner. So it is very rewarding for us at Gracious Living to hand over a new home to owner who has enjoyed the overall experience and can’t wait to move into their new home. We have also had clients that have built with more than once, even three times. This along with referrals that we get is very gratifying and makes it all worthwhile.