Rideau Place (Towers and Townhouses)

This large development from the mid 1950s (the townhouses date from 1976-77) is a neighbourhood unto itself.  A total of 245 condo apartment homes are contained in four concrete towers of similar design, and 23 spacious townhouses line the edge of the escarpment above the Elbow River.  Many of these homes have wonderful views of downtown, the Elbow River Valley, and of the Rocky Mountains.  Some higher-up corner suites have views in several directions. There are extensive gardens around the cul-de-sac street, a driveway around the perimeter of the entire property, and two outdoor pools.

The apartment towers were all built in 1955 as high-end rental buildings by Calgary-based Landex Properties Ltd.  In 1975 they were converted to condominiums. The towers are very similar to each other, although not exact duplicates.  Each has assigned covered parking but not enough for every suite, so some residents have surface parking. There are no basements, so storage locker rooms are on each main floor alongside at-grade suites.  Suite sizes range from roomy one-bedrooms of 600+ to 800+ square feet to two-bedroom suites of over 1,000 square feet.  A few suites have been combined to create sprawling large apartment homes.

* Devonshire House is at 3339 Rideau Place (first on your left), and has 56 suites.

* Rutland House is at 3316 Rideau Place (first on your right), and has 56 suites.

* Cumberland House is at 3232 Rideau Place (second on your right), and has 54 suites.

* Renfrew House is at 3204 Rideau Place (third on your right), and has 56 suites.
 
Exterior windows and doors are each suite owner's responsibility at Devonshire House, but are common property in the other three condo apartment buildings.  At all four buildings the unit factors are assigned to suites in proportion to their floor areas.

The 23 townhouses are in four groups with 19 of the homes arrayed along the west edge of the escarpment, and with great views in that direction. The last four back onto the outdoor swimming pool and gardens at the north end of the development, with front-window views north and east to downtown and Mission.  The driveway around the permiter of the development gives vehicle access to the double-car drive-under parking at each townhouse.

As mentioned above, the townhouses were built in 1976-77. They are frame-built, cedar-sided buildings, each each home having 3,140 square feet of interior space, with the first level dedicated to indoor parking, storage, mechanicals and in many cases a den with en-suite. The living areas above measure about 2,000 square feet in each with the top floor having a vaulted ceiling.  Layouts can include up to four bedrooms and up to three full bathrooms.  A wood-burning fireplace with natural-gas log lighter is common; some converted with gas-burning inserts.

Like Devonshire House, the 23-home townhouse corporation opted out of responsibility for exterior windows and doors in 2001, so if replacements are needed they're at each owner's expense.  In 2008-09 the townhouses received new glass-panel balcony railings and many were upgraded with new low-e double-pane windows.  The driveway was also lined with a decorative cast-aluminum post-and-chain fence with lighting.
 
I keep on file all five Rideau Place condo plans.