OSHA CONDOS
in Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
The southernmost stretch of Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve has seen changes of late: façades rejuvenated; new construction; arrival of new cafés, restaurants, bars and shops; as well as the creation of the beautifully designed Place Simon-Valois plaza which has helped revitalized the area. It’s in that spirit that Osha Condos is rising between Notre-Dame Street and Ste-Catherine Street East on a 125,000-square-foot plot, once home to a multilevel garage and car dealership. The project by the Altius Group will bring 200 new addresses to the block, extending from Nicolet Street westward until Parc Edmond Hamelin. “It really is a village,” said marketing and design director Hugo Deschênes. “And what we’re doing is creating a village within that village.” The seven-phase project — to be built south to north — will begin with Phase 1 fronting the Notre-Dame Street linear park and bicycle path, part of Quebec’s province-wide Route Verte network, and leading directly to the city centre. With 20 buildings containing condo units from one to three bedrooms, and 14 semi-detached townhouses, Osha’s design and scale dovetails into the old and new of the neighbourhood, with buildings surrounding pathways and new greenery, the first on this plot in decades. “We’re greening a space that is now all concrete and asphalt,” said sales director Dax Giunta. A host of mature trees and greenery will be installed between and in front of the homes, with more than 20 per cent of the total space devoted to green space. With no common spaces or amenities, monthly fees will be kept low — about 15 cents per square foot. “We don’t need a gym or a pool here,” Giunta said. “The kind of things that become expensive,” he added with a laugh. “No need,” said Deschênes. “This area is so walkable — it’s known for that — and this fantastic bike path is right outside your door. You can get downtown by bike safely in 20 minutes.” Most of Phase 1 is sold, with 19 of the first 21 homes sold to buyers from the neighbourhood. “They come and see there is finally a new housing option. Some people already have a condo or have been renting for years and they want to go a little more upscale, and that’s something we’re proud of,” he said. “We didn’t go cheap on our finishing, on materials or any level of quality. You still get quartz countertops, high thermoplastic cabinets and more.” Indeed, Osha offers “the luxury of an ergonomic kitchen” in an older neighbourhood, replete with beautiful wood floors, porcelain bathroom tiles, and no compromise for what Deschênes calls “a design project benefiting from the best comfort-accessibility ratio of any Montreal project.” “Each square foot counts,” Giunta said. “The whole area of each of the units was used in order to avoid the loss of spaces.” That means no hallways, nooks and other wasted space. “You don’t pay for lost space.” Units range in size from 660 to 1,500 square feet, priced $179,000 to $314,000, the latter a two-bedroom penthouse with mezzanine, offering a 9x11-foot space commonly used as an office, guest room or lounge, along with a second — completely private — terrace. Also in the mix are 14 semi-detached townhouses — four-bedroom homes on two floors with ground-floor patios, starting at $358,000 plus tax. “Think about that,” Giunta said. “A four-bedroom townhouse for $360,000 in Montreal? With this proximity to downtown? I challenge anybody to match that.” One feature marking the project is the distinctive coursive or gangway, an external corridor running parallel to units and separated from them by individual terraces. It allows residents to access elevators from outside and still enjoy their own intimate terrace while able to mingle, creating what Deschênes calls “a real sense of community. That’s why we did it. What this neighbourhood is about.” Underground parking is available for $32,000 — $22,000 for outdoor. “People are opting more for indoor, when at first we believed they would appreciate having a parking spot right in front of their door at $10,000 less. But this is Montreal after all, (and) it’s winter.” The buzz has been great, said Deschênes, with one small marketing change after criticism over a billboard meant to highlight the Hochelaga name and depicting first contacts between Indigenous peoples and Europeans. “We wanted to pay tribute to a group of people,” Deschênes said. “but the people who we wanted to pay tribute to didn’t like it. So we stopped. That’s it.” Ultimately the project, built on what he calls a very human scale, will bring about 400 people to the neighbourhood — hundreds of homeowners in a village atmosphere with a distinct personality and large social mix. Along with the square-foot price of their new townhouse, that’s what brought Francis Zimola and Diane Grappin to the neighbourhood and to Osha: “We chose Osha based on the location of the project, the family-friendly units for sale, and the fact we believe that the completed project will integrate gracefully into the neighbourhood,” said Zimola. “Hochelaga is one of the last upand-coming architecturally pleasing neighbourhoods in the central part of the island. “We like the fact we can easily walk to local businesses and to the métro station.” Deschênes said more good news is also coming with the Quebec government’s plan for an electric tramway along a refurbished Notre-Dame Street, linking Pointeaux-Trembles with downtown. “Either way, you can get to the heart of downtown in minutes by bike, bus, métro or car.” With a Bixi stand nearby and linear park path at the door, chances are active transit will figure heavily in the lives of homeowners. “You really have a lot of choices,” Zimola said, adding it’s just a one-kilometre walk to Joliette métro station and a host of local buses. Digging begins in spring with first delivery in the fall of 2019, and the project is expected to be complete by 2022 with the seventh and final phase of 40 social housing units.