Hardwood Estates

Being on the south (uphill) side of Royal Avenue, this building of 37 suites is actually in Mount Royal proper, which is worth something in the prestige of that alone. It's also a nice building; one of very few that has concrete walls between suites and between suites and hallways. The story I heard is that in 1962 the building was intended to be much taller, but that an outcry from Mount Royal saw its height limited, yet the sturdier design was already in place. Whatever the truth, concrete walls it is, and the 1998 conversion saw nice renovations with the addition of storage lockers for all suites. There's titled indoor parking for most suites, six have covered parking, and one or two without stalls were assigned a nook and a cranny on the driveways. I think one small suite remains without an on-site parking stall. The garage is in two parts, accessed by either an east or a west car door. The first floor is taken up by the lobby, one suite, storage and parking, so living really starts on the second level.

The building's design is long and skinny, requiring an elevator at each end, with the back end enjoying a quiet garden and picnic table along Durham Avenue (there's no back lane). East-side and front-of-building suites on the fourth and fifth floors have terrific views over nearby rooftops to downtown, while west-side suites with their upgraded renovation packages are the largest floor plans with seven suites of 1,341sq. ft. and a top-floor corner suite of 1,619 sq. ft. The west side's second-floor suites have large terraces over top of the garage and driveway. There are a couple of one-bedroom homes, but the balance of suites are mostly two-bedroom homes of more than 1,000 sq. ft. The lobby is large with walls of windows, and the porte-cochere gives the feeling of a high-end hotel rather than a condo building. At last word the building allowed dogs, with the usual controls.

You'd hardly notice it, but ceilings here are a bit over eight feet high, rather than the more common tad less than eight feet. Suites are open and bright because of the large original windows, but also because designs were opened up in 1998 and parquet hardwood was laid through all living, dining and kitchen areas. All suites have in-suite laundry; there are no fireplaces. Exterior windows and doors were assigned to individual suite owners for maintenance and eventual replacement. The tan-coloured brick cladding, dark-painted balconies out front, evergreen trees plus the curved driveway allow Hardwood Estates to fit in well in Mount Royal.