ville-marie La Catherine (2134, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest) - 14 étages (2017)

[IluvMTL]

In today's Gazette

 

 

One of Shaughnessy Village’s newest condominium projects will occupy the site of former art supply store

 

After years of decline and neglect, Shaughnessy Village, located in the western part of downtown near the old Forum, is showing signs of life. Several new condo projects, including the forthcoming La Catherine, are revitalizing the Ste-Catherine St. strip.

IMAGES COURTESY OF LA CATHERINE

Bathrooms in La Catherine condos will feature procelain-top vanities integrated into the wall, and a multi-jet shower with glass doors. Buyers can opt, however, for a tub and shower instead. Kitchens, meanwhile, have ceramic-tile flooring, German-made stainless-steel appliances, and stone or quartz countertops and backsplashes.

Named for the home once owned by 19th-century railway baron Thomas Shaughnessy, the neighbourhood is tight-knit, multicultural and dotted with well-preserved Victorian-era homes and towering apartment buildings. It’s a popular spot for hordes of students attending nearby colleges and universities.

Steps from bustling restaurants, shops and pubs, the area is lively and affordable, making it an ideal spot to develop new condos, said La Catherine’s architect, Allan Fadi Coussa, owner of Montreal Design Zone, which is collaborating with developer Groupe Gabriel on this project.

“What’s great about this spot is you don’t have to build a street or cafés or grocery stores — everything’s already here, compared to other downtown projects where everything has to be built over the next four years, or where you still have to take your car if you need milk,” Coussa said.

Located on the site of the former Omer Deserres art supply store, empty since 2005, La Catherine will feature more than 100 condos in a 15-storey building. The existing building will soon be demolished, Coussa said.

“The site is a little bit complicated, because we’re building against Collège LaSalle, and like any downtown area site, we’ve only been authorized for up to 15 storeys — plus there’s a total square footage and height to respect.”

This is Coussa’s second project with developer Groupe Gabriel. The two firms recently collaborated on the new Platopolis project, located in the eastern part of the Plateau.

La Catherine’s complex features two buildings that share common spaces, interior-parking, and other services. One building has more than 100 condo units on 13 floors of the 15-storey building, with commercial space on the first two levels, while the other has three units on four storeys, with direct access to Tupper St.

In the first building, the first level and mezzanine will be occupied by either a grocery store or a pharmacy, Coussa explained.

The main entrance of the property on Tupper St. will also flow through to the first floor of the second building on Ste-Catherine, which features a large reception area and 24-hour security guard.

 

Coussa noted that there are interesting vistas from different floors.

 

 

 

 

 

| Construction begins soon

 

From page I1 “We have two corners facing Ste-Catherine, and all the surrounding buildings are really low, so in unit No. 8 on the fifth floor, you can see the mountain,” Coussa said. “It’s like being in the city, but feeling the mountain. We have three units on the second and third floors that face Tupper; there, it feels like a private upper duplex. So people have the advantage of overlooking Tupper or the back courtyard between the two buildings.”

Units range i n price f rom about $200,000 plus tax for a 552-square-foot studio to $550,000 plus tax for a two-bedroom top-floor corner unit measuring 1,280 square feet.

Coussa cited many inclusions that are often considered upgrades in other projects, such as stone or quartz countertops and backsplashes, and six German-made Bloomberg stainless-steel appliances. There are engineered wood floors throughout, with ceramic tiles in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry areas. Each condo has a large balcony measuring about 60 square feet. The bathrooms feature porcelain-top vanities integrated into the wall, and a multi-jet shower with glass doors. Buyers can opt for a tub and shower instead.

An interior parking spot runs another $50,000 plus tax, and a fenced-in basement storage unit costs $5,000 plus tax. You can have a spot for your bike for $1,000 plus tax. Condo fees are estimated at 30 cents per square foot per month.

Early on, the partners decided to cater primarily to Asian clients interested in purchasing condos for their children to live in while attending university. “The rent in this area is still high, plus the apartment units are not great. That’s why we had a lineup on our opening day at the end of May,” said Coussa, who consulted with a feng shui expert during the design phase. Coussa incorporated many feng shui principles, including an address change from 2134 Ste-Catherine to 2136, to avoid the number four. (The Chinese word for “four” sounds like the word for “death.”) Also, very few units in the building contain the number four. The Tupper St. main entrance’s new address, 2117, was chosen to add up to the number eight, because the Chinese word for “eight” sounds like “prosperous.”

 

“We also discovered that it’s important that your balcony door doesn’t face your entrance door — it’s a question of the spirits coming in through the front door and leaving through another door, so we made some modifications. It costs nothing when it’s on the design table, and if it encourages people to live there, why not?”

Although Coussa didn’t originally intend to build a pool in the complex, the developers quickly realized that young buyers are willing to purchase small condos if they have high-end amenities.

“Our pool is on the second floor, not the roof, like other projects. Sure, the roof is sunny, but it’s also very windy; you can’t keep a towel on your chair or have an umbrella. People want to be outside not just for the sun, but for the fresh air, so we installed garage doors that open up, so you can feel like you’re inside or outside.”

The fitness centre overlooks the pool, which features a living-wall system and a waterfall. There will also be a multi-purpose room and communal lounge, and an inner courtyard with lush landscaping between the two buildings.

 

Construction is slated to begin this fall, with units ready for delivery in June or July 2016. La Catherine is 50-per-cent sold. “The top floors went first, but the most popular units are the 60 smallest ones,” Coussa said.

 

 

 

[Rocco]

15 étages... Pffff

[cjb]

15 étages... Pffff

 

Rocco et son opinion.... Zzzzzz

[steve_36]

La densité de ce quartier est exceptionnelle. Je me balade de plus en plus par là-bas car ma copine y habite et je dois dire que je suis impressionné par la revitalisation depuis l'arrivée des chinois/asiatiques et ensuite le projet du Séville. Il y a du monde et ca bouge beau temps mauvais temps. Je ne sais pas pourquoi mais j'ai l'impression d'être à Toronto lorsque je suis dans ce quartier.

 

15 étages c'est très bien. Nous sommes en pleins sur la rue Ste-Catherine et moi je serais très satisfait avec de 7 ou 8 étages alors 15 est en masse. Et 50% vendu, c'est excellent !

[MtlMan]

La densité de ce quartier est exceptionnelle. Je me balade de plus en plus par là-bas car ma copine y habite et je dois dire que je suis impressionné par la revitalisation depuis l'arrivée des chinois/asiatiques et ensuite le projet du Séville. Il y a du monde et ca bouge beau temps mauvais temps. Je ne sais pas pourquoi mais j'ai l'impression d'être à Toronto lorsque je suis dans ce quartier.

 

15 étages c'est très bien. Nous sommes en pleins sur la rue Ste-Catherine et moi je serais très satisfait avec de 7 ou 8 étages alors 15 est en masse. Et 50% vendu, c'est excellent !

 

Tout à fait. Et de plus, on n'est pas dans le Quartier international. Ça aurait pas de sens d'avoir une tour de 40 étages là. Elle aurait l'air perdue. Je serais bien prêt à faire une exception si elle était dessinée par Renzo Piano, mais comme ce n'est pas le cas, gardons ça raisonnable.

[FrancSoisD]

Le jour où du 40 étages sera construit à Longueuil ou Laval, et/ou le jour où plus de 10 tours de plus de 35 étages seront vendues et complétées aux abords du centre Bell, croyez-moi qu'il y aura une forte pression pour augmenter les limites de hauteur vers l'est, le sud et l'ouest du c-v!

[IluvMTL]

Today

 

[Chris1989]

Amazing! Another eyesore gone!

[denpanosekai]

Wow! NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rocco]

Jamais je n'aurais pensé que ce projet lèverait. Il semble que ce quartier soit en très forte demande.