ÉQUINOXE MARC CHAGALL
First phase of rental project in Côte-St-Luc to be delivered beginning this summer, completed by fall
There’s a lot of buzz about the Équinoxe project on Marc Chagall Ave. in Côte-St-Luc, says Olivier Monnais, director of property management for Collection Équinoxe.
“There is major word-of-mouth on this project,” he said, and his colleague Mariève Anderson agrees.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said the marketing strategist. “It’s great for sales.
“Bad if you’re doing it wrong,” she added.
Monnais laughed and responded: “But we are doing it right.”
About 40 per cent of the 170 high-end rental units are already leased, and the first seven floors of the 13-storey building in Phase 1 are to be ready for occupancy on July 1. The balance are expected to be move-in ready by fall.
With a population of about 34,000 and much of it aging, Côte-St-Luc’s housing challenge includes an abundance of older housing stock including singlefamily homes and a cluster of uninspired highrises — condominiums and rentals — with little renewal in recent years.
Developed in partnership by Jadco Construction and Trantor Realty, Équinoxe is betting on people wanting the flexibility of leaving their house and renting somewhere without exhausting their capital or settling for a cheap, old or uninspired living space.
Building on Jadco’s experience in Laval, where they erected a fully leased rental project on St-Elzéar Blvd. W., just north of Highway 440, the developer turned its attention to a 116,000-square-foot plot of zoned but long-dormant land in Côte-St-Luc, developing a total of 295 apartments and two towers representing 318,000 square feet of living space in the neighbourhood.
The rental office at Cavendish Mall (officially renamed Quartier Cavendish but with little adherence to the new moniker), has elicited much interest in a community where any housing announcement makes for big news.
“People are coming from the West Island, from right here and neighbouring Hampstead,” said Monnais, adding that a fair number of out-of-towners are inquiring, as ex-pats ponder a return perhaps to live close to their children and grandchildren without ownership obligations.
All the hype and interest has come without even a model unit; instead, the team is directing people to the Laval location, said Anderson, “and they’re coming back wowed.”
The developer and builder Jadco gained a strong foothold throughout the Montreal area’s luxury residential, upscale rental and mixed-use project markets, and built Laval’s Quintessence project as well as the über-luxurious and iconic Paton 1, situated on Île Paton in Rivière des Prairies.
Équinoxe Marc Chagall is part of a new wave of rental buildings rising in the Montreal region as people, increasingly but not exclusively empty nesters, view their home equity as a new opportunity to enjoy highend living without the costs and headaches of homeownership.
The BSR Group is completing one building directly facing the mall in Côte- St-Luc, as well as another two on the Montreal side of Côte St-Luc Rd., responding to the same demand.
The Équinoxe neighbourhood is a great draw for current and ex-locals — walking distance from a mall with a movie theatre, grocery stores, banks, salons, cafés and mere steps from the Eleanor London Public Library, long and widely recognized as one of Montreal’s top municipal libraries.
Apartments range from a 700-square-foot one-bedroom unit to apartments as large as 1,800 square feet, with most three-bedroom apartments snapped up in the days following the launch. Olivier Monnais said those went mostly to retired persons who want a home office or guest bedroom.
“People want to downsize,” he said, “but just not too much.”
Units are designed in classic, monochromatic palettes to please all tastes and accommodate all furnishings, with contemporary quality finishes, gourmet kitchens, private balconies and fully tiled bathrooms with separate showers and bathtubs. All apartments feature laundry spaces for full-size stackable units, and there’s an increasingly popular option to rent brand-new high-end appliances for the term of the lease, that makes for easier and less costly moves, and no concerns over service contracts.
The two phases will include more than 17,000 square feet of common space, Shabbat elevators, gym, saltwater pool, private dining rooms, catering kitchen, lounge and more. There will be a small office centre available, a concierge service offering everything from flower delivery to on-site pet grooming, car wash, drop-and-go dry cleaning service, housekeeping services and more. Équinoxe is also (small) animal-friendly, said project manager Robin Slutsken.
Monthly rents start at $1,150 for a onebedroom, $1,590 for two bedrooms, and from $3,470 for a penthouse. Parking spaces cost $95 a month (overnight parking is not permitted on streets in Côte-St-Luc), and leases of up to three years are available.
Équinoxe is also a completely non-smoking environment. While Côte- St-Luc boasts an antismoking bylaw for public spaces, enforcement is not a given, particularly in terms of how the bylaw affects private properties such as apartment garages where it is powerless to act. But as private landlords and property managers throughout Canada face the consequences of the federal government’s marijuana legalization gambit this summer, and what it means to tenant quality of life, Équinoxe has nipped the issue — so to speak — in the bud, prohibiting smoking of any type anywhere on the property.
“Smoke-free properties mean the place smells good and it’s healthier for residents,” said Anderson, adding that it fits “because we planned a very healthy and positive activity calendar,” featuring yoga classes, community-oriented events like group holiday dinners, mah-jong tournaments and more.
With all these amenities, inclusions — and, of course, location — it seems like the right formula, Slutsken noted.
“It’s a complete offer,” she said. “We’ve hit all the marks.”