‘EUROPEAN VIBE’ WAS IRRESISTIBLE
World traveller makes home in Plateau-Mont-Royal
When Kevin Clark was growing up in Muscle Shoals, Ala., in the 1960s, he had no idea he would end up living in Montreal five decades later. Muscle Shoals, according to Clark, is a small community in the “Deep South” — very different from Montreal with its sophisticated lifestyle and multicultural population. Through Clark’s teenage years, it was famous as a recording venue for such accomplished musicians as Aretha Franklin, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones.
Steeped in this musical milieu, Clark became interested in broadcasting, but he also loved computer graphics and was fascinated by technology. He earned a degree in communications and public relations at the University of North Alabama, but like many young people, he wanted to spread his wings. He lived for a while in Denmark through a student exchange program. Along the way, he picked up a couple of languages — Danish, German and “schoolboy French.”
Clark really got the taste for travel and after saving some money, he took off for a backpacking trip around the South Pacific.
By the time he reached Sydney, Australia, however, his money had run out, so he found employment as a programmer and computer-graphics artist for a Japanese company. Nine months later, when he returned to Alabama, he found there were no jobs available so he went globe-trotting again, this time signing on as a flight attendant for American Airlines.
Clark eventually decided to go back to his “real” career, combining his knowledge of technology with public relations. Throughout the late 1900s, he worked in Utah (with a startup), in Silicon Valley and in San Francisco. The company in San Francisco had a branch office in Old Montreal, which, as part of his job, Clark had to visit from time to time. He loved Montreal’s “European vibe” and that was enough to make him move to the city. Today, he’s the Senior Public Relations Council for Element AI, a software company specializing in artificial intelligence.
In 2009, Clark bought a two-bedroom condo in the Plateau. Built in 2000, it has a terrasse (as well as a balcony), an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area and a mezzanine — Clark’s “play area” where he has set up a home office with various pieces of gadgetry including a mechanism that unrolls a giant screen for watching movies.
Q I gather it took you quite a while to find your apartment?
A It took me about a year. I was very picky because I was looking for specific things.
Q What kinds of things?
A I wanted lots of light. I wanted a bathroom with a window in it. I didn’t get that, but I added a window later. Also, if I was going to live in the Plateau, I wanted a parking spot. I’d rented for a couple of years before buying this place and I got so many parking tickets. I do have a parking spot downstairs.
Q Did you visit a lot of apartments before setting on this one?
A I must have looked at 15-20 places, but I had the world’s most patient real estate agent!
Q Was the condo in good shape?
A It was, but I had to give it an unexpected overhaul, a major renovation.
Q What happened?
A After about 18 months of living here, there was one of those awful downpours that sometimes hits Montreal — buckets and buckets of non-stop rain. I was sitting upstairs one day when I suddenly felt water hitting my face, then water started pouring in through the ceiling fan. The ceiling was beginning to bulge, so obviously, it was filling up with water.
Long story short, my neighbour called the fire department and when the firefighters arrived, they poked a hole in the ceiling and 400 litres of water came swooshing into my living room, inundating the furniture and causing the wood floor to buckle.
Q That sounds awful!
A The drain on top of the roof had broken, but the insurance company covered some of the cost. I had to move out, but I took advantage of the situation by renovating the interior and installing new walnut flooring. I changed the kitchen.
It had a wall separating it from the living room so that was taken down to open it up to the rest of the living space.
I also installed a powder room on the mezzanine. My spare bedroom is sometimes listed on Airbnb, so having a second bathroom is handy.
Q I notice you like the colour orange.
A (Laughs.) I do. That comes from my university days. One of my assignments was to hold a press conference themed around sweet potatoes. It wasn’t the easiest topic. What do you say about a common vegetable? But I did well in it, looking at all aspects of sweet potatoes, their nutritional value, how they’re used in cooking and so on, so I’ve loved the colour orange ever since!