In addition to coming home to the first Built Green multi-family project in the province, Chorus Park buyers have a chance to get into an Assured address and still have plenty of green in their pockets, as the developer’s only entry-level address.

First up is the shopping Mecca that is Assured’s Urban Discovery Centre, set to usher would-be urbanites by June. “It’s under construction as we speak in the Aqua Shops on First Avenue in Bridgeland,” notes Chris Wein, Assured Developments’ vice-president of sales, marketing and product design.

A one-stop shop for the urban apartment-style condo, town or city home seeker, the 3,000-square-foot hub is more than a venue to browse paint chips. Every Assured multi-family development will be represented in the $1.5-million space—each in its own room, each with its own designer.

Screens will pull up virtual representations of projects and floor plans, and be interactive. “We do that now at Paintbrush Ridge (in Canmore) and you can actually change the tile in your suite (on the digital rendering),” explains Wein. “We want people to feel as though they can come as many times as they want; it won’t be the traditional in-and-out experience.”

Next, the Galleries at Renfrew promise “a very modern approach to town homes,” launching this summer. The 16 Euro-inspired steel-and-concrete 1,400- to 1,800-square-foot townhomes will bring a fresh look to the up-and-coming area, and offer new real estate in a mature community. “Basically they are geared to people who want to live in an infill, but don’t want to pay $800,000 or $900,000,” says Wein, adding prices for the Eleven Eleven Architecture-designed address will likely start in the $600,000s.
A central courtyard will illuminate interior spaces and provide open areas to enjoy, while a unique underground parkade is poised for storage and private access to homes.
The tri-level homes will see the first floor devoted to living and dining, the second to bedrooms and media areas, and the top floor will boast private master bedrooms and ensuites like no other, with free-standing tubs, fireplaces, and plenty of space for R and R.

Fall brings Akoya in the Bridges II development in Bridgeland. The 122-address eight-storey concrete building will boast some of the best views in the area. “The architecture is spectacular from the outside, with lots of curtain wall, and it will be wrapped in two-storey city homes,” says Wein.

Designed by S2, Akoya will be home to the height of innovation and design. “We are going to look at doing as much as possible with adaptive spaces—the idea there is by including things like moveable and translucent walls, kitchens and bedrooms are going to appear and disappear,” says Wein.

Top-notch appointments from Miele appliances, to bamboo floors, concrete and glass countertops, and Kohler fixtures are also planned. “Akoya is really designed for up-and-coming young professionals without kids who want direct access to downtown and empty-nesters coming out of the suburbs who want to be a short walk from restaurants, the theatres and the symphony,” notes Wein.

Prices are expected to range from the mid-$300,000s to over $1 million.

Vox is set to breathe new life into an open lot next to Holly Park in Crescent Heights, and begins marketing this winter. Revised from its original 81 to a 100-unit development, the Baum Thornley-designed building will boast a unique design of concrete and lightweight steel perched on a sloped site overlooking downtown. “It takes up the entire block on First Avenue and Third Street northeast. It cascades down the hill, so at the top you are 110 feet higher than at the bottom—you can literally see for miles,” explains Wein.
The 500- to 1,500-square-foot homes will look into a pair of completely self-contained courtyards, and the not-so-gentle slope of the land will allow for sizable terraces “so that all residents can enjoy the view.”

A bohemian Melrose Place of sorts, the project will appeal to buyers with adventurous spirits who enjoy a more communal element to home design. The architectural firm helming Vox hails from San Francisco, and came to the project as a proposal winner. “They won because they have done so many unique projects in San Francisco and have a lot of experience with extreme slope,” explains Wein.

Vox will also serve up Zen-like interiors and finishing with a conscience, such as recycled glass countertops and spaces with scores of natural light. Prices for the hillside abodes will range from the high $200,000s to $1-million-plus.

Assured will venture into the Beltline in early 2008, with a project slated for 14 Avenue at 6 Street S.W. “This will have a mix of flats and two-storey units. It will be all city homes along the park, which will be beautiful. The most exciting part of the project is the location—directly adjacent to the Peter Lougheed Park and the very exclusive Ranchman’s Club,” says Wein.

The concrete, Jeremy Sturgess-designed space will reach 12 to 15 storeys, and promises to deliver 150 new condo addresses, ranging from 600- to 2,000-square-feet. A mix of one- and two-bedrooms plans and three-bedroom penthouse digs will be up for grabs.

Out of town, Assured Developments continues to build recreational condos in Canmore, at Blackstone Mountain Lodge and Paintbrush Ridge at Three Sisters Mountain Village. Meanwhile, the company is expanding into Edmonton, where a 300-home apartment-style condo address is planned.  CL

For more information, or for priority registration
for one of Assured Developments’ projects, visit http://www.assuredhomes.com