Calgary's City Centre Transformation
For those who want a “room (or two) with a view,” several City Center highrise condos offer their own unique urban lifestyle.
Avenue West End by Grosvenor and Cressey Development Group, provides spectacular downtown, river valley and mountain views from its Downtown West location. You are also only a hop, skip and a jump from the Bow River pathway for evening and weekend jogging, walking and cycling and a pleasant 10-minute walk to work downtown every day. And just minutes away from Shaw Millennium Park, home to numerous festivals or to shoot some hoops or play some beach volleyball.
Park Point with Calgary's first park, Central Memorial Park as its front yard.
Another option is Park Point by Qualex-Landmark. It not only provides residents with outstanding views, but Calgary’s historic Memorial Park/Library is in its front yard. Located at the corner of 12th Ave and 2nd Street SW, residents are equidistant to all of the City Centre’s hot spots - Olympic Plaza Cultural District, Stephen Ave/Core, 17th Ave, Mission and Stampede Park. For those looking ahead, Park Pointe will be on the doorstep of future new Green Line LRT.
The Royal grocery store at street level.
Then there’s The Royal by Embassy BOSA offers not only luxury living, but the convenience of having an Urban Fair grocery store and Canadian Tire store right in your building. And if being at the crossroads of the 17th Ave and 8th St SW you have all the shops, cafes and restaurants you will ever need, including Jelly Modern Doughnuts!
Lamb Development Corp.’s very modern, 31-storey, 6th and Tenth condo is located on one of the City’s hottest urban addresses – 10th Avenue SW. Live here and you can get a little more shuteye given you are probably only a 5-minute walk to work. Just outside your front door, take a left and you can chill with friends at the funky new Bridgette Bar or grab a bottle of your favourite vino at Metrovino for entertaining. And being next to the Beltline’s Gallery District; you’ll have no excuse for blank walls!
6th and Tenth is one of several buildings transforming the Beltline's 10th Avenue into an attractive urban playground.
Vogue is the latest condo development by LaCaille and Calgary’s S2 architects. It's art deco-inspired design features a five-floor podium with an arched glass entrance that grounds the strong vertical lines of the 35-story condo tower creating a very fashion forward design. Located at 914 - 6th Avenue, it is the closest condo to the downtown core of any of the new City Center condos.
In East Village, FRAM+Slokker’s Verve not only offers a spectacular 25th-floor rooftop lookout terrace, but easy access to Riverwalk, St. Patrick’s Island and soon the new Central Library and 5th & Third shopping complex that includes a Loblaw’s City Market grocery store (both now under construction).
Modern Mid-rise
If architecture is your thing and money is no object, the opulent Arthur Erickson-designed (Canada’s most celebrated architect) Concord condo in Eau Claire should be on your must-see list. The 14-floor west tower is currently under construction and will have seven penthouse homes thanks to a design that sees the building terrace upwards from the Bow River pathway to 1st Avenue SW. Concord residents will savour their proximity to the delicious Alforno Bakery & Café and Buchanan’s restaurant. They will also have a bird’s eye view of the Calgary International Folk Festival.
AVLI condo in the community of Inglewood, named Canada's best neighbourhood in 2015.
If the charm of Inglewood is more to your liking, the new Jeremy Sturgess (Calgary’s most celebrated architect)- designed AVLI on Atlantic condo (Atlantic Avenue is the original name of 9th Avenue) is a very cool design. It's angular, ghost-like uber modern design is destined to become one Calgary’s signature early 21st century condos. Those into live music can hang out at Ironwood or Blues Can. Into fine dining? It doesn’t get any better than Deane House or Rouge or maybe you have regular cravings for a Spolumbo’s sandwich.
Across the Bow River from Inglewood sits Bucci’s seven-story new condo Radius, in the increasingly hip community of Bridgeland. Located on Centre Avenue at 9th Street on the edge of Murdock Park, residents will be within walking distance of the very hipster Cannibale (bar and barbershop), Lukes Drug Mart and Bridgeland Market.
Radius condo in Calgary's Bridgeland community.
Also north of the Bow River, in Hillhurst is Ezra on Riley Park, which offers 8 floors of sophisticated urban, living. Imagine living in a 3,000 sq. penthouse with a 6,000 sq. terrace looking out to the lovely Riley Park. If that is not in your budget, there are many one and two bedroom homes in the middle of the building, as well as two-storey townhomes at street level. Ezra living also means enjoying Hillhurst Community Centre’s weekly farmer’s market and Sunday Flea Market or the Bodhi Tree yoga studio.
Last Word
It will be interesting to see in 50 or 100 years what historians say about the early 21st-century transformation of Calgary’s City Centre into a mosaic of vibrant urban neighbourhoods. You could be part of history-making!
Note: This blog was first published in the Calgary Herald's Condo Xtra supplement in Swerve Magazine on February 10, 2017.
Calgary's East Village skyline is constantly changing with new condo towers.
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