York House

Built as a condominium building in 1980, York House was luxurious from the start, although some features not modernized since then look a bit dated today. The 28 suites are mostly large and 12 of them are two-storey homes, each with a spiral staircase, with the six of these atop the building having both north and south windows for the upper level and each with a north-facing roof deck of about 250 square feet with lovely downtown views. Construction is concrete, with the basement being the large assigned-parking indoor garage. The main floor is evenly divided between the common areas of lobby, games room, gym and sauna at the front, while at the back are six two-level homes. The building steps back as it rises, giving many suites sky-light-like glass wall/ceiling areas over their living rooms.

The smallest suites at York House measure 825 square feet, but there are only four of these. More common are suites of closer to 900 and then well over 1,000 square feet each. Six suites ring in at or larger than 1,120, while the six top-floor two-level homes have almost 1,500 square feet. The larger suites have 1.5 bathrooms, while all have at least one wood-burning fireplace, and everyone gets an out-of-suite storage locker. In-suite laundry is standard. The ground-level two-storey homes are loft-style one-bedroom homes, although the loft can act as a second bedroom.

Exterior windows and doors have been assigned to each suite owner to maintain or replace as needed. Unit factors are allocated to suites in proportion to their sizes. Parking is common, so has no UF and pays no condo contributions or property taxes. I keep the York House condo plan on file.