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Posted Apr 25, 2010, 4:48 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 4,109
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Quote:
Top of the world
Martinis, rock shrimp and the prospect of living steps away from Parliament Hill. All you need is money.
By Patrick Langston, The Ottawa Citizen April 24, 2010
Maybe David Choo is right in insisting that Ottawa is more like New York and other heavy hitters than we imagine. There was certainly nothing small-town about the by-invitation-only shindig that Ashcroft Homes, Choo's company, hosted on Sparks Street earlier this month.
The occasion, more toney reception than sales event, was the launch of re Hotel & Residences, a posh condo-cum-boutique-hotel that Ashcroft is building on the old Canlands site straddling Sparks and Queen streets near Metcalfe.
With its view of Parliament Hill, re promises to be an urban jewel. There will be 90 condos and 110 hotel rooms.
"These people are very sophisticated, seasoned, savvy buyers. They've been around," says the ever-intense Choo, as he scanned the crowd of 450 well-heeled guests.
Servers, meanwhile, balanced trays of martinis along with sustainable Florida rock shrimp sui mai dumplings and mustard-crusted rack of lamb prepared under the watchful eye of Restaurant e18hteen executive chef Matthew Carmichael.
"Sophisticated" seemed an accurate description of the way arriving guests glanced almost casually at the two Mercedes, furnished by Star Motors as part of re's marketing scheme, parked at the sales centre's Sparks Street entrance. Ditto folks' apparent nonchalance about prices -- $400,000 for a 567-square-foot unit rising to $5 million for the 2,437-square-foot penthouse -- that would make your average condo buyer a candidate for cardiac arrest.
"You could put your money in the bank and get zero interest or buy one of these and rent it," says Ottawa businessman Pierre Lariviere with consummate logic. He hadn't pulled out his chequebook yet, but was thinking about it. "It's an ideal place to rent to people who live outside Ottawa and come here to work."
For anyone wanting to learn more about re's design features, project architect Rod Lahey, tall and distinguished in a pin-striped suit, stood by a scale model of the sleek, modern building.
"Imagine the chance of doing something just a block from Parliament Hill. It's like doing something on the Mall in Washington, D.C.," he said, pointing to the model. If you'd been Alice in Wonderland, you could have slugged back some magic shrinking potion for a quick tour of the model site's two buildings: a six-storey structure with ground-floor retail shops fronting Sparks Street and, joined to it by an interior courtyard, an 18-floor building facing Queen.
Original facades on Sparks will be maintained, a two-storey foyer will face Queen, and the interior courtyard will mean natural light for both buildings. Plans include a lower courtyard. "Light will pour into it for the lunchtime crowd," says Lahey.
Knowing that seeing is believing when you have lawyers, entrepreneurs and a senator in the crowd, Ashcroft had outfitted a two-bedroom, fully furnished model suite inside its sales centre. Posted at the doorway on launch night, wearing tails, white gloves and a friendly yet deferential expression, was Raymond the Butler. "A lovely evening," he intoned to us.
When the building opens in spring 2013, there will be a real-life butler providing concierge services to condo owners, who will also be able to call on the hotel's room services when feeling peckish. On launch night, actor Sylvain Landry was our butler. Asked if he'd be snapping up one of re's units, Landry answered: "Ahhh, no. I like my inexpensive little townhouse in Gatineau."
As Raymond chatted, nearby guests, having moved on from martinis to mid-priced chardonnay and merlot from Sandbanks and Huff Estates, reviewed the day's golf game with acquaintances or bussed each other on the cheek. One gentleman was spotted wolfing back darling little key lime and mint tartlettes from Ottawa's Thyme & Again as though he hadn't eaten in a week -- unlikely, considering the cut of his suit.
Sweet-toothed or not, guests were doubtless heeding the evening's unspoken message: "Live here and you're among your own kind."
Inside the model suite (977 square feet, starting at $624,450 with monthly condo fees of $517.81), it's all about contemporary. The Toronto design firm Cecconi Simone has outfitted bathrooms and the amenity-packed kitchen with European fixtures and cabinetry, ample storage room -- a plus for downsizing baby boomers -- and sleek, high-end Gaggenau appliances.
Smart design abounds. The entrance to the spare bedroom features frosted, sliding glass entry doors in one corner instead of the usual space-wasting swing door. The master bedroom includes a generous walk-in closet next to the ensuite, minimizing steps between showering and dressing. The living room is a cosy enclave.
"Very clean and sharp, a good use of space," commented Ottawa real estate professional Charles Sezlik, one of the guests.
Not everyone was so sure. "Ikea-ish," declared Lena Hellyer, looking at the mostly white, sharp-angled master bedroom. "It's too stark and cold." Someone else found the tiny pot lights in the en-suite so blinding that he flicked them off.
Tony Kiwan liked what he saw well enough to put a reserve on an 11th-floor unit. "I wanted something in the core," said the Ottawa entrepreneur. "Here, you're practically living on Parliament Hill. I'm going to rent it and if we decide to downsize, we have this option ready."
By the time the last guests left, 14 units had been added to the reserve list, bringing the total to 22.
Real estate guru Marnie Bennett, one of the organizers of the evening, summarized the night's success.
"We're marketing to the affluent. It's friends of friends and bragging rights and all about being pampered."
- - -
re Hotel & Residences
Sales centre: 106 Sparks St.
Phone: 613-232-1081
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
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Everying about this project sounds absolutely pretentious so far. I couldn't imagine having to live in a building filled with the clientele they are describing. How many units total will this project have? 22 sold so far sounds like not very many. I guess we will see how much money there really is in Ottawa....and whether that money is remotely interested in downtown living. I would like to see this project happen just to bring a bit of life back to Sparks Street. It may not bring that street back from the dead, but it will be a start.
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