IN THE HEART OF IT ALL
Main and Twentieth starts with its central city location
A Vancouver developer has employed an ancient building design to appeal to a hip new generation in the rapidly evolving and increasingly popular Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.
Both the Romans and the Chinese used the interior courtyard centuries ago in their building designs for heating, cooling and even residential security, but Landa Global Properties has a different goal in incorporating the concept in its 42-unit Main and Twentieth condo project.
“We are really excited about bringing this new condo development to this Main Street neighbourhood,” Landa CEO Kevin Cheung said. “Living in a condo often means it’s hard to get to know your neighbours, but the courtyard design allows people to come together in a mini-community within the building.”
The courtyard will offer an outdoor lounge, green communal space and Zen garden, creating an area where homeowners can interact more and enjoy a sense of community within the development’s walls.
The project will include shrubs and a large tree in the central courtyard as a major green feature. As well, all plants meet bird-friendly habitat guidelines to encourage wildlife and are serviced by a drip-line style irrigation system, which the city permits to be operated when other irrigation systems are restricted during summer months.
“It’s a really eclectic, familyfriendly, community-oriented part of the city and I think buyers will appreciate the interior courtyard, which is a rare offering in Vancouver condos and will provide light coming in on two sides,” Cheung said.
Main Street through Mount Pleasant has already earned a place on the 15-city list of Cool Streets of North America, a survey conducted by the New York-headquartered real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield. Mount Pleasant is only one of two in Canada on the list — the other is Toronto’s Queen Street West.
Main and Twentieth will have retail and commercial on the ground level of the modern design building. The developer adopted a modern minimalist style for both the building exterior and the home interiors, adding a touch of warmth inside through features such as the textured laminate wood-finish cabinetry.
Cheung said a challenge the project presented was to find a balance between the unit size and its layout, which meant making the floor plan very compact yet functional.
“Our floor plans were designed for the busy lifestyle and growing family needs, with most of them featuring multiple-use flex space to accommodate different needs,” he said. The same thinking was behind the idea of offering lofts, which combine trendy split-level living with a more efficient floor plan.
Some of the loft units come with a private entrance at street level and private yards and all feature living rooms with high ceilings. Hardwood flooring is laid throughout the living, dining and bedroom areas. All homes feature a Blomberg washer and dryer.
The developer kept strata costs down by relying on the neighbourhood’s proximity to publicly available amenities, such as the community centre, rather than trying to create something within the complex.
Each unit boasts a full line of premium kitchen appliances by Miele, including a four-burner gas cooktop and built-in wall oven, integrated refrigerator and dishwasher, and built-in microwave and hood fan. Cabinetry is designed by the Italian firm Aster Cucine, and countertops are made of quartz with ceramic style backsplashes.
Contemporary faucet and shower kits are used in the ensuites and in the guest bathrooms, which come with polished quartz counters and Aster Cucine cabinets, porcelain floor tiles and shower wall tiles.
Penthouses feature rooftop garden areas with dividers for privacy. For all suites, there is provision for storing bikes and additional storage.
New homeowners receive Telus Optik TV, internet and home phone service for free for the first year.