A ski lover since his childhood, André Turcotte enjoyed his semi-detached house for many years. A house that he took the time to plan well to make the most of the sun, nature and his favorite sport. All he had to do was get out of his house to put on his boards and reach a ski lift on Mount Sutton. A real dream!
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
The acquisition of his two lots at 360-362 Boulanger Road is rather ironic. “It started with an old story with the Boulanger family, who owned Mont Sutton at the time. I was always teased by saying: “You, you are a university professor, you are good at talking, but never at doing anything concrete.” So I decided to do something concrete by buying this land to build a semi-detached,” recalls Mr. Turcotte.
A good ten years passed before the first stone was laid there. “I made three or four different shots before I was satisfied. I gave a computer drawing course at Polytechnique and, in the evening, a construction course. I also had my general contractor’s license. Also, I am a meticulous person, I like things to be done well. »
However, it happens that in the building, this is not always the case and of course, André Turcotte has paid the price. “The result on the site is unfortunately not always what we thought, so we can accept things, or not. Me, I don’t like sloppy work, but when I asked a worker to redo a partition that wasn’t straight, he threw his hammer at me! It was a horror story, the worst experience I had, but I ended up finding the right people.”
Nature lover, André Turcotte did not want a condo with a small balcony, as we often see near ski resorts. “It’s like being in town, then. I wanted to really integrate into the environment. »
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Maximize sunshine
Another essential point of the planning: sunshine. The owner has made every effort to ensure that his apartment benefits from as much natural light as possible and, therefore, from the heat of the sun.
When you sit inside, you feel like you are in nature. I’ve enjoyed it all the more in recent years because I’ve had an arterial blockage that has forced me to sit still more often. Outside my patio door in my dining area, I felt like I was in the woods.
André Turcotte, owner
A welcoming interior
With a cathedral ceiling and a blond wood floor, the warm living room invites you to relax after a sporting day. The kitchen connects it to the dining area housed in the arched window (bow window). Convenient to avoid stairs, two bedrooms and a bathroom complete the ground floor. Upstairs, the mezzanine ideal for teleworking provides access to a large bedroom and its bathroom.
“There is also a two-bedroom apartment on the ground floor which provides an interesting income. I have a son and a daughter who have competed in skiing and I thought they would come often, but they are very busy,” says André Turcotte.
The passion for skiing
The owner suffered a serious accident when he was in his twenties and after several attempts to get back on his feet, it was muscle work that saved him. Decades later, while he was practicing his favorite sport at the Mont-Sainte-Anne station, excruciating pain in his leg led him directly to the emergency room where he was operated on because his artery was blocked.
Five years later, there is no longer any question of skiing and Mr. Turcotte resigns himself to selling his property. “It’s not easy for me, because my best holidays are in winter. We enjoyed it enormously with my wife, my children and our friends. We’ve done a lot of ski trips in several countries, but Sutton is really a beautiful mountain, which presents a lot of challenges. »
The property in brief
Asking price: $849,900
Municipal assessment: $352,200
Year built: 2002
Land area: 4532 ft2
Living area (excluding rental apartment): 1566 sq.ft.2
Property tax: $3620
School tax: $335
Real Estate Broker: Marie-Josée Kromp, RE/MAX