Bridgeland Manor

Pink isn't my favorite colour, but it kinda' works for this 24-suite four-storey condominium erected in 1998. The structure is frame with structural floor joists but no gypcrete overlay, pink stucco cladding, and jaunty angled projecting balconies. There are four floors plus a loft level with each of the six fourth-floor suites having an enormous upstairs space of up to 689 square feet under an overheight sloped ceiling--very dramatic. These six unique suites total from 1,680 to 1,819 square feet each, which is unheard of floor area for an inner-city location. Lower-floor suites are roomy two-bedroom layouts of between 950 and 1,131 square feet. South-facing suites on upper floors have a great view of downtown.

The original finishing for all suites included white or oak cabinetry and railings, white appliances, in-suite side-by-side laundry equipment, a natural-gas corner fireplace, and some in-suite storage. The frame building is atop a concrete in-ground garage that houses one assigned common-property parking stall for each suite plus nooks for bicycles. There's still garage space to build some lockers if the corporation chooses to do that. The building's roof is sloping with asphalt shingles. The garage does not extend out beyond the building's footprint, so there's no risk of leakage from gardens through the garage roof. All floors except the loft are served by a single piston-system elevator. The building's lobby and hallways were repainted in January of 2010 for a shiny new interior look. Management in 2010 is with Unit Management.

Exterior windows and doors at Bridgeland Manor--including the cathedral windows up by the 15-foot-high ceilings in the loft suites--are common property for maintenance and their eventual replacement. I keep the Condo Plan on file. In summary: big suites at reasonable prices only steps across the Bow River from downtown.