ProCura Real Estate’s 23-storey Emerald Stone was a pilot highrise project for the Beltline Initiative, and the first new residential tower to hit the area north of 17 Avenue S.W. in two decades when it broke ground. The developer has since followed up the tower’s rock-solid success with The Montana, set to grace the site next to Nellie McClung House in the next few years. True to its name, Emerald Stone’s exterior is distinctive from afar by its reflective green glass and crimson brick.

Residents not only reap the rewards of living close enough to walk to work downtown and play along 17 Ave. S.W., but in-house perks include a main-floor exercise facility, lounge area with billiards and foozeball, swank lobby awash with a waterfall and seating, and a state-of-the-art golf simulator.

And if those weren’t enough to make non-residents green with envy, first-floor commercial area serves up a restaurant and lounge which heartthrob Brad Pitt was rumoured to have frequented while in Calgary shooting a movie last fall.

When Emerald Stone first began selling, suites in the building ranged from 711-square-foot one-bedroom designs priced from the $150,000s, with two-bedrooms averaging 1,000 square feet then also starting in the $190,000s.

Since its completion in 2004 residents have enjoyed brisk resale of units, typically being snapped up in a fortnight to as few as five days – and for above-asking prices, says Robert Moroto, ProCura’s marketing manager and Emerald Stone suite owner.

“We as residents have realtors soliciting us on a weekly basis,” says Moroto, adding the BKDI-designed tower is also a finalist in this year’s National SAM Awards for Best Multi-family Project.

merald Stone penthouse owners are likely not immune to would-be buyers coveting their views. The two identical-sized suites of 3200-plus square feet include three private patios (one with a hot tub) enabling some of the best bird’s-eye views in the city – the Rockies to the west, Nose Hill Park to the north, Mount Royal estate homes to the south and the downtown skyline to the east.

Though the owners of the west penthouse have other homes in Mount Royal and Kelowna, Emerald Stone is admittedly their favourite, and certainly one inked for entertaining. Boasting a custom-designed kitchen with sleek granite counters flanked by rundle stone, Miele appliances and Italian tile in the centre of the home, two-way fireplace bookended by living room and formal dining room serving up floor-to-ceiling views, the city acts as an artful backdrop in the lofty one-of-a-kind space.

Nestled in the core at 920 5 Avenue S.W., Five West is the LaCaille Group’s sequel project to LaCaille Parke Place. While one of a pair of penthouses in the first phase is sold, Five West’s westerly 27th-floor upscale downtown digs are still up for grabs – and will boast some of the only front-row sights of the Bow River left to behold.

Just five units in the first tower remain – a pair of 1,400-square-foot, and as many 2,100-square-foot upscale suites and one penthouse after two years of selling, according to Nick Livaditis, of Maxwell South Star Realty.  Phase Two, now under construction, is already also 70 per cent sold.

Among perks sewn into Five West ownership is a two-storey hotel-like lobby, concierge, a 14,000-square-foot street-level commercial area at residents’ disposal, and an amenities and party room. But one only has to climb to the top floor to see first-hand the wealth of nearby amenities. “You’re a block off the park and close to Kensington. This is why people live here – to walk to work and have this access to downtown,” says Livaditis.

Units in the first building started in the $265,000 range for 700-square-foot one-bedroom addresses, while the average bill for suites fell somewhere in the $450-per-square-foot range, depending on the level of finishing detail.

The remaining penthouse, slated for a May possession with a pricetag just under the $2.2-million mark, will boast some of the most breathtaking sights in Calgary.

“It’s truly a one-of-a-kind penthouse, a very prime piece of real estate – you’re literally sitting on top of the city skyline forever,” says Livaditis of the 2,800-square-foot suite.

Future residents will awake in their rounded bedroom walled by glass to a scene of mountains, and sneak a peek at traffic below crawling over the Louise Bridge from Kensington before hopping into their luxurious master loo to prepare to walk to work.

The galley kitchen faces north, where “you’re so high up you can see planes taking off,” says Livaditis, adding upgraded kitchen appliances, ten-foot ceilings, oversized windows and anique U-shaped floor plan are all part of the $2.15 million penthouse package.

A media room and second bedroom to the northeast lend more views of the downtown gridlock along 4 Avenue, while a private patio off the dining room to the north provides the ideal spot for dining with clients or friends, with a river view as conversation starter.
Perhaps the best chances on the horizon for condo shoppers coveting a penthouse property of their own reside at Sasso and Vetro, both by Cove Properties Ltd.

Twelve top-floor addresses will hit the market soon at the first of the towers, Sasso (1338 1 Street S.E.), offering buyers suites ranging from 1,000 to 1,900 square feet with the height of finishing. Smaller of the high-end digs will boast one-bedroom-and-den floorplates from around the $500K mark, while 1,300-, 1,629- and massive 1,900-square-foot plans with loft bedrooms boasting 20-foot ceilings will fetch upwards of $1 million.

“We decided to go in a different direction with our penthouses – we wanted these units to have something in common with the suites below them,” says Chad Hanas of Cove Properties, adding upper digs will boast smarter floorplans maximizing spaces as well as outstanding panoramic views and custom design.

The move opens up more residents to elevated views, with choices of floorplans and sizes and orientations based on their lifestyles, says Hanas. Empty-nest residents who may be used to views of the Rockies can take those in to the west, while early risers reap the benefit of the sunrise to the east, not to mention a front-row seat for nightly Stampede fireworks each July.

Meanwhile younger professionals who work long days downtown will appreciate having the core alight in the night sky as a backdrop to their upper-floor addresses or from their balconies or living spaces. “You really get 270-degree views because of the wraparound patios,” says Hanas, adding balconies span 300 to 400 square feet.

Hanas, who himself bought at Sasso, credits brisk sales of the nearly-sold-out 200-suite tower to its prime location along Macleod Trail, where it’s tough to miss the 23-storey highrise just behind the Calgary Stampede grounds.

Equally impressive are the future views from 35-storey, 302-unit Vetro, which by all accounts will be the tallest residential tower in the city when complete in a couple of years. A dozen penthouses will also be up for grabs in that nearly-sold-out tower.

Among other in-house sights to behold for resident use at Sasso and Vetro is a 28,000-square-foot landscaped patio oasis set to include a 12-person hot tub, fire and BBQ pit, and a TV lounge, fitness room and scores of main-floor boutiques, eateries and services.   CL