Latest news with #downtownliving
CTV News
6 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
New residential units in converted office building to include 27 per cent affordable units
More of Calgary's vacant office space is being converted into affordable housing units in downtown Calgary. This latest project is located at 606 4th Street SW across from Harley Hotchkiss Garden, in the building formerly known as the Barclay Centre. Upon completion in late 2027, just under one third (27 per cent) of the 166 new suites will be affordable units in a partnership with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC). 'I've been doing downtown planning since the early 2000s, and it literally always was 'the dream' to have residential right in the core, right by the shopping, right by the park,' said Thom Mahler, Calgary's director of downtown strategy. The project is owned by Dream Office REIT with Dream Unlimited Corp. as development manager. 'We would be delighted to continue these conversations so that we can participate in the future growth and prosperity in Calgary,' said Dream Office REIT CFO Jay Jiang, in a media release. The units will include studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites, yet the building will also include amenities for fitness, lounging, and co-working spaces. The City of Calgary has already spearheaded three downtown office conversions through the Downtown Calgary Development Incentive program. Just under 30 per cent of Calgary office space sits vacant, according to a January report from commercial real estate company CBRE.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
We sold our home in the suburbs for a luxury downtown apartment, thinking we'd save money. It was an expensive mistake.
We were tired of the suburbs and thought living in downtown Tulsa would be a grand new adventure. So, we sold our home, signed a lease for a luxury apartment, and thought it was all going smoothly. The problems started as soon as our belongings were unpacked. When my husband and I signed our new lease, we were pumped for a fresh start. We were in our mid-20s and ready for a new adventure, but who knew we'd be stepping into one of the most expensive mistakes of our lives? It all started last April when we felt the itch for change. We wanted to remain in the same city because it was close to family, but our current routines felt draining. We'd also just faced a lengthy insurance claim and repair costs from severe storm damage. We thought: What if we could sell our starter home to pay off our student loans, have more disposable income, and save for a couple of years for our family dream home, all while renting a trendy place near downtown? At the time, it seemed like a no-brainer. A new luxury apartment complex seemed to check all the boxes. It was near the hustle and bustle of downtown Tulsa. While not a large city, Tulsa is up and coming and has a lot of noteworthy food, art, and music options, including a top-rated food hall in all of America, called Mother Road Market, right across the street from the complex. We'd also be located on the iconic Route 66, where every business boasts a show-stopping neon sign. Of course, there was an underlying nervous feeling, but we chalked that up to the possibility of taking a big leap. When we visited, some of the amenities were unfinished, but we were told that they were on track to be completed by our moving timeline. To us, the building felt luxurious; there were many community spaces to make new connections with people our age, and the process of selling our home was already going smoothly. We thought it was all working out as planned. So, a month later, once we closed on our house, we moved in. The problems started as soon as our belongings were unpacked. We immediately had many maintenance issues in our apartment — from the electrical, to the WiFi, to the stove, to the showers. Hardly any of the community amenities had opened up as promised. It seemed like nothing worked properly for a "luxury" complex. Just a week after moving in, we were tucked in for the evening when blaring fire alarms shook us from the comfort of our bed. We peeked into the hallway and made eye contact with our neighbors across the hall, all of us wondering if it was a real fire. Alongside our neighbors, pets in tow, alarms blasting in our ears, we made the trek to the apartment's courtyard to escape the incessant noise. We waited there for over an hour until the alarms stopped — at least for that night. Unfortunately, those alarms berated us at all hours of the day and night at least once every couple of weeks for the entirety of our residency. As we wound down after a fun night with friends, we heard water dripping in the hallway. Residents thought the leak upstairs was from the rain that day, but it was a fully burst water pipe that flooded all units below it, including ours. We broke our lease soon after, luckily without penalty. The whole ordeal of moving out of the luxury apartment (ironically right back to the area we started), buying new furniture to replace the damaged pieces from the flood, and then paying for the security deposit plus first month's rent in our new place cost us thousands that we weren't expecting to pay. Saying we were frustrated after taking out a renters insurance claim to replace our belongings just nine months after concluding a six-month-long homeowners insurance claim would be an understatement. We lived at the "luxury" apartment for only eight weeks, but due to displacement, we paid over $5,000 for hotel stays, meals, and furniture replacement that we had to wait for insurance to reimburse. We've been living comfortably in our new place for almost a year. Now that everything's settled, we joke that the suburbs called us home. If you're considering a crazy move, I can say from experience that the grass isn't always greener. Do your research, and make sure you have good insurance. Read the original article on Business Insider
