CITÉ MIDTOWN
Residential project in St-Laurent
At the junction of three municipalities, two major expressways, an important urban boulevard, a short drive from the airport and within walking distance from the subway, in the tradition of location, location, location, Cité Midtown in St-Laurent already scores points.
But the $325-million project by Toronto-based Urban Capital Property Group will forever change the 13-acre plot of land west of Marcel-Laurin Boulevard and north of Highway 40, just across the Met from the massive planned Royalmount development project, with its hundreds of shops, food and beverage spots, hotels, offices and entertainment venues.
With a total of 790 housing units in four phases, Phase 1 is off and running at a healthy clip, says project broker Amber Hellyer.
“We’ve sold 55 per cent of condos, and almost 90 per cent of the townhouses” since the November launch.
Construction begins on Phase 1 in the spring, with its 210 condos and 48 townhouses slated for delivery in 2021, she said.
One of the many draws of Cité Midtown, besides the location, is the variety being offered in the four six- to 10-storey condo buildings.
Phase 1 studios begin at 344 square feet and are priced at $164,900, with 1,080-square-foot penthouses for $520,000 and four-bedroom, 2,100-square-foot townhouses fetching up to $739,900, making the project attractive to buyers ranging from young professionals making their first modest purchase to large families, and everyone in between.
“A lot of buyers come from the area,” Hellyer said. “We have young people moving out from their parents’ home in Bois-Franc, moving closer into the city,” and a lot of people are just looking for proximity to the intended Royalmount development. “Du Collège métro is 600 metres away,” making it a big draw for transit users.
It’s an interesting mix of buyers, said Taya Cook, Urban Capital development director. “We get people already living in the neighbourhood who want to upgrade or downsize — maybe they’re renters and want to purchase — and we definitely get people who were looking to purchase downtown but are quickly drawn by our price per square foot.
“How accessible we are to buyers — that’s the huge price benefit of not being right downtown.”
Cook said the timeline will not be affected by proximity to the busy, often congested highway interchange and impending massive commercial development. “Not at all. We have direct access from the road, and we’re set off from the highway, so it’s not an issue. To be honest, from a development standpoint it’s a dream because we are accustomed to working in downtown urban sites like in Toronto and near 150-year-old buildings in Old Montreal. This is our best-case scenario.”
The first two storeys of Phase 1 will be set back from the busier south side, improving esthetics along with a berm — a natural sound barrier that will be erected between the project and the highway. Buildings have a clean modern look, conceived by Neuf Architectes, clad in brick and metal panels, and offering design elements to lend a more personal feel, with all parking on one underground level with direct access to each building.
A central plaza boasts walkways, kid-friendly spaces and a heated outdoor pool, in addition to a café and seating area.
With some 1,000 new residents expected to populate the project, the architectural intent was to create a master-planned community, as attractive and interactive as possible, with amenities that people truly want.
Many of the buildings are U-shaped and face each other to create interior courtyards — natural meeting spaces that create a desire to linger.
“It’s very intentional, all our spaces,” Cook said.
With a shared, traffic-calming street design, cyclists and pedestrians will enjoy safer and easier access than on a typical municipal street.
Amenities will be housed in the first two phases at street level, and one large gym is planned.
“We considered this carefully,” Cook said. “Instead of one small gym room in each phase, we’re building a large, beautifully equipped fitness centre that is close to everybody and it will all be shared and linked underground.”
She said Cité Midtown residents will really appreciate their product library, especially those who are downsizing. A product library is a place where they can borrow items for occasional use: a drill, ladder, crib — something that they can simply sign out and return in a day or two when they are done.
“We started doing it a couple of years ago in our Toronto properties and we are rolling it out in all our projects. Residents just love it. It makes living in a smaller space easier when you have quick access to a steam cleaner, a large roasting pan, or a carpet cleaner that you don’t have to purchase, store and maintain.”
Also planned is a play centre meant for children up to 12 years old, with homework and study spaces, areas for mat play, climbing structures and more.
A hobby room will permit people to pursue their interests like painting, sculpting or woodworking, with ease.
Residents can also count on access to office space, two lounges/ party rooms and a two-acre city park on the southern portion.
Some 75 per cent of Cité Midtown’s surface area will be landscaped, Cook said, and in addition to hundreds of new trees, much of it will be edible thanks to a plan by Projet Paysage to have an active year-round garden feature.
“It’s nice to have flowers,” she said, “but only for a few months per year? This way we can have the entire site appealing year-round, and it gives back to our community, with groves of fruit trees, herb gardens, medicinal plants and consumable perennials.
“It adds nice visual appeal with different colours and textures, but is also functional in an interesting way.
“It’s not by chance that our landscaping budget is significant.”