Luxury Elbow River condo sells for almost $9 million, sets Calgary real estate record
Tops $8.3 million sale earlier in the year
By Mario Toneguzzi
Calgary Herald May 24, 2012
CALGARY — A luxury condominium in the new The River project has sold for a record $8.99 million, the most expensive sale ever in the Calgary market for a condo.
The penthouse unit is 5,626 square feet with 2,950 square feet in additional outdoor space.
Earlier this year, a 5,260-square-foot condo covering the entire 12th floor of the 15-storey tower, to be located on 26th Avenue S.W., along the Elbow River, sold for $8.3 million.
“The River not only offers its owners an unsurpassable location but also redefines condo living in Calgary,” said Chris Bourassa, chief operating officer of 26th Avenue River Investments Inc. “The development presents living spaces that do not compromise quality or size, and offers a premium lifestyle not yet seen in the city.”
The development will have a total of 38 residences — 27 units in the tower and 11 town houses. There have also been four sales so far of more than $5 million each.
The project is being developed by 26th Avenue River Investments Inc., an affiliate of Ledcor Properties Inc.
Bourassa said the development is projected to start construction late this year with completion in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Bourassa said a key to the project’s success is that it is offering a product that’s never been offered in the Calgary market.
“If you look at other industries, whether they be cars or single-family homes, large homes and the acreages, the luxury market was being served,” he said. “But once those buyers were sort of done with families, done with acreages, wanted to travel more, wanted a place that they could have the space to stretch out in a condo and be able to turn the lock and leave for months at a time, it didn’t exist. Not with the whole building being of like-minded people.”
He said many of the buyers are business leaders who have vision and can see the economy moving in the right direction.
“Calgary is very strong and they can just foresee that now is the time to move on some of these things,” added Bourassa.
Of the 38 residences, 14 have been sold and several are conditionally sold, he said.
Recently, a report by RE/MAX said growing confidence in Calgary’s residential housing market has spilled over into luxury properties with first-quarter sales over the $1-million price point, the best on record since 2007.
The Upper-End Market Trends 2012 report said 115 homes changed hands in the first quarter, up from 106 during the same period in 2011, 67 in 2010, 35 in 2009, and 86 in 2008.
Only 2007 posted greater sales activity in the top end, with 124 sales priced over $1 million, said RE/MAX.
“Locals are primarily behind the push, trading up to larger homes or lot sizes, taking advantage of today’s low interest rates and more affordable housing values,” said the report.
“Movement back into Calgary — in the form of transfers from international corporations — is also a trend worth noting.”
