Bella Vista

An Italian name and Italianate design were on tap for Seven Sevens Corporation in 2002 when it built the Bella Vista commercial/residential condos on Seventeenth Avenue, with the residential address on the steep section of narrow 14A Street, S.W. There a driveway up the hill from 17th Avenue goes into the courtyard of the L-shaped building, leading to the two-storey residential lobby and the parking garage entrance, which then spirals down to the 17th-Avenue level.

There are 66 condo units at Bella Vista, six of them substantial commercial spaces on the Avenue and also having direct access from the heated garage behind them, where their 33 assigned-property parking spots are separate from the residential parking. The commercial condos measure from 1,186 to 2,217 square feet, so there's lots of space for retail sales with an office and storage at the back of each.

The sixty condo apartment homes start on the second level, so suites facing onto the courtyard are at grade, while those facing outward overlook either 17th Avenue or are above the Fourteenth Street lane. The third and fourth levels extend over top of the lobby and garage entrance, designed that way to terrace up the steep Bankview hillside; it works fine, and the height gives many suites views towards downtown. The fourth-floor suites all have stairs to a landing or den and to a private roof-top deck, which is in addition to each suite's main-level balcony, and one suite has two roof decks. The design grants some suites window areas as tall at 18 feet and those at the building's corners are rounded walls of glass; 'dramatic!

Interior finishing was high end at Bela Vista, so non-loft ceilings are 8' 10" and most suites have hardwood or good laminate flooring, granite counters, maple or cherry-wood cabinets, a natural-gas fireplace, soaker tubs and in-suite laundry rooms and storage. One-bedroom suites start at 591 square feet, but that's the baby; most are over 800 square feet. Most two-bedroom suites are over 900 square feet and range up to 1,140.

The building had problems with water penetration that came to a head in 2011, when the Board decided to make comprehensive repairs at a cost of about $5.5 million to replace the entire development's stucco exterior and to rebuild some of the balconies. Residential and commercial unit owners paid between $50,000 and $187,000 each to see this work done, the Herald reported. Upon completion of the project Bella Vista condos should be attractive and water tight for 50 or 100 years.

Exterior windows and doors at Bella Vista are common property for maintenance and their eventual replacement. Unit factors were allocated to suites and the commercial spaces in proportion to their floor areas. I have on file original floor plans and the Condo Plan.