ROSENBLOOM
Townhouse/condo project in Rosemère
The sign was up for a while, announcing a real estate project in one of Greater Montreal’s most unique communities. It involved land acquired for the Rosenbloom project in Rosemère in 2012 and was delayed over several issues including environmental concerns over proximity to wetlands. Groupe Dargis’s condo and townhouse project is here now. Launching construction in 2016, the project features 16 semi-detached townhouses and 280 oneto three-bedroom condo units in 12 buildings ranging from three to six storeys at the junction of Rosemère, Blainville and Ste-Thérèse. Rising on a 750,000-square-foot plot north of Highway 640 with a rear exit crossing the narrow Rivière aux Chiens via a small bridge into Blainville, Rosenbloom feels a lot like a private community, but is built adjacent to existing homes and streets, geographically curtained by a wooded lot and wide swath of green space, stream and a highway. “It’s unique in this area,” said Jean-François Brunet, Groupe Dargis’s product and sales manager, “as is Rosemère.” Bilingual, urban and country elements, riverside, a village with independent shops and a reputation for peaceful neighbourhoods, gardens and abundant green space — not the first spot you’d think of for condos. “True” he agreed, “but there’s a definite interest and demand for this type of real estate. That’s why we’re here.” With no phases per se; buildings go up in pairs with a shared garage, as go the sales. “This product works really well,” said Brunet, particularly the four-storey all-corner-unit buildings which are among the most popular of the offer. A 16-unit building, it features lots of privacy, concrete slab balconies and many high-end features. Once model units opened in September, sales picked up. “People look at a project and wait to see if it goes through,” he said. “There have been some false starts in the area in the past, so buyers are doubtful. But we’re doing very good right now, and we see more interest all the time. “We’ve seen nearby developments of large single-family and semi-detached homes over the last 20 years, but these owners are older and that empty-nest feeling sinks in. “What do you do with a 5,000square-foot house when it’s just two of you? You go to a beautiful, spacious condo in the area.” Rosenbloom mostly targets a 50plus regional crowd who are moving to Ste-Thérèse, Blainville and Laval. “So many lived in Rosemère for so long, even if on the edge of the city, they don’t want to leave.” Pierre Roussel and his wife didn’t need convincing to buy their 1,900-square-foot condo in Rosemère, having lived there since 1982. “We chose this beautiful city for its environment and its green spaces,” Roussel said. “It was a great place to raise our family. Our children have left the house, which has become bigger and took too much of our time for the maintenance.” The project’s name was conceived to evoke the city’s green spaces, including local Parc Rosenbloom named for a notable citizen and as a reminder of the city’s bilingual history. Dargis employed “classic architecture” in its palette and materials, eschewing overly contemporary profiles. “We made sure that we’re good neighbours and aren’t putting a four-storey building in someone’s face,” Brunet said. “We gave it a good classic design with a modern touch. Our design discussions emphasized that in 15 or 20 years it will look as if it had always been here.” Large is a theme through much of the project: large units, large windows and large doors — every door is eight feet tall. Top- and ground-floor condos and townhouse ground floors all feature dramatic 10-foot ceilings (nine feet everywhere else). Dargis also left doors untrimmed for a “Scandinavian design feel for many people, which is very pleasing and we’re very proud of that.” Walking through a 1,300-squarefoot corner unit, Brunet said design considerations emphasized the kitchen. “It’s the most important place, right? We started there and worked around it.” In condos measuring 700 to 2,100 square feet, open kitchens boast islands of at least 11 feet long adjacent to dining and living rooms with large windows and two sets of patio doors accessing concrete slab balconies.
“It’s just more options for the homeowner — how to use the balcony, arrange furniture, entertain.” Brunet said buildings of all corner units are so popular (the first is 90 per cent sold; the second, under construction with delivery in July, is 40 per cent sold) that Dargis introduced a smaller model at a lower price. “We came up with a new design — still four storeys but we squeezed a little bit more to make the same product at about 1,000 square feet. We just shrank the building a bit.” The well laid-out and finished condos still have two-bedrooms/ one-bathroom with the same finishes, high ceilings and concrete balconies. Condominiums start at $276,900 for a 1,000-squarefoot two-bedroom unit up to a 2,000-square-foot unit at about $650,000 (taxes, garage and locker included). The stone- and brick-clad townhouses feature two or three bedrooms, with a fourth-bedroom option in the basement, a garage and double driveway. The popular townhouses, priced $450,000 to $500,000, tax included, are “the best of both worlds for buyers who don’t want to give up that sense of space, and townhouses offer the convenience of condo living; grass and snow removal is taken care of, all of it.” Parking, large windows, doors and kitchen islands are included, but appliances are not. “In Montreal we always include appliances, but in Rosemère it seems at least half of the people coming already have great equipment they want to keep,” Jean François Brunet said. “It’s an option but not a must as we see in the city. Up here, I don’t know, it’s a different mentality.” Rosemère’s mantra of “more value, lower taxes” means higher average home resale prices but also lower tax rates of $0.536 per $100 valuation — a $430,000 home has a tax bill of about $2,300. Common spaces are limited to a small central chalet with a pool, spa and probably a gym, Brunet said. As for monthly fees, for the condos it’s estimated at 25 cents per square foot, 15 cents per square foot for townhouses. The stand of mature trees on the project’s west side will remain untouched, as will the riverside strip of greenery; in total about a third of the project will be left green. All utility connections are buried and walking paths will be created, along with a bike path connected to Quebec’s Route Verte.