May 26 2008
Innovative properties in the cutting-edge east downtown redevelopment are available this weekend, long before ground is broken on the first highrise condominiums for the area approved by council only last month.
The offering is a visionary project in the area newly designated by the city as The Quarters Downtown. Aptly named Liberty Quarters, the development is the first of its kind for the area and will offer a unique choice of four entirely different Manhattan themes (Central Park, Broadway, Greenwich and SoHo) in two-storey town houses and individual suites. The themes vary in virtually every conceivable way, not just a choice of paint or cabinetry colours. Central Park is bright and airy as a summer breeze, while Greenwich offers a cozy, library-like feel. SoHo is downtown-chic and streamlined, while Broadway is irrepressibly arty, with a musical vibe.
Such diversity is the product of a competition that had designers and their crews working nonstop day and night to complete, to be judged by a panel of celebrity judges June 12.
Liberty is an opportunity for average buyers to get a jump on affordable development in the area while encouraging other developers to help really get the ball rolling, says developer Alumni Development Group's president Natasha Stenzel.
Our inspiration for Liberty was the urban lofts of Manhattan, where people live very near all that's central to their lives," Ms. Stenzel says. "We've got the Arts District right on our doorstep, plus the LRT, river valley and the best of downtown. You can literally give up driving and live with more freedom and less impact than people in suburbia."
For buyers who do drive, the building features secure, heated underground parking ¯ a sought-after commodity in downtown Edmonton.
Liberty Quarters is located just off Jasper Avenue, in an area that has rather organically become the launch pad for the downtown redevelopment. A strip of fresh new housing faces the building's front, creating an existing oasis in east downtown. The City of Edmonton recently opened its project headquarters for The Quarters half a block away, and the first highrise condo tower approved by council will be built to the near southwest.
Strategically, we couldn't have picked a more perfect location," says Ms. Stenzel. "From here going south, the redevelopment is essentially complete. As the parks are built and improvements continue north and northwest, early adopters here stand to benefit the soonest. They'll get in at a lower price point." Ms. Stenzel points out how housing prices skyrocketed after the city of Vancouver undertook a similar, arguably less ambitious redevelopment near its once run-down core in the now-prestigious Yaletown.
Alumni Group has taken its efforts to the streets ¯ literally cleaning up the neighbourhood. The development team has gone out with bags to collect litter from the surrounding roadsides and lanes, and donated trash cans to many neighbouring homes. "We're here to help make the community better," says Ms. Stenzel, "and that means working outside our walls as well as within them. This will be one of the best places in Edmonton to live, and we're here to make sure of that."
The City of Edmonton has extensive plans for The Quarters Downtown, which include breaking down the large blocks into more walkable ones, as well as adding pedestrian-friendly parks and courtyards and the river valley funicular that may resemble the one in Quebec City, a locale with similar weather challenges. But it's the developers and their supporters who ultimately ensure the success of a project of this nature.