The owner’s tour | Two spacious private terraces in the heart of downtown

Owners open the doors of their exceptional residence to us, offered on the resale market.

Sylvie Searle and her spouse had been living in Guadeloupe for 19 years when they set sail for Montreal. They knew they would settle in Quebec, where Sylvie was born, when the studies of their two daughters required it. Accustomed to living in the great outdoors, they were seduced by the idea of ​​living in a large two-storey condominium apartment, with two spacious terraces, in the heart of downtown Montreal.

They followed with interest the construction of the eight-storey building, named Le Verdi, integrated between two buildings on rue Drummond, north of rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest. They moved in in 2014.

“We came regularly during the construction,” explains the co-owner. We were changing our lives. We had lived in the Caribbean, in the sun, and we really wanted to enjoy the city, the restaurants, the cinemas, the theaters and the shows. The apartment, moreover, is very elegant. It reminds me of row houses, stuck on top of each other. There are no windows on the sides, but there are front and back. It’s the same principle. »

The elevator goes directly to the seventh floor, where the bedrooms are located. The girls, who were 11 and 14 at the start, each had their own bedroom, a closet and a bathroom, on the Drummond Street side. On the other side, their parents had their bedroom, their bathroom and their closet, adjacent to a large office and a spare kitchen. A staircase, in the center, leads to where the main kitchen, dining room and living room are located. At each end is a spacious terrace.

“It could be a multi-generational apartment. Grandparents could settle in a section of the seventh floor, which could be further separated,” explains Sylvie Searle.

“But we really wanted a space to work. This is partly what seduced us, specifies the co-owner. You can’t imagine that an apartment like this exists in the building. It’s very discreet. We liked this little secret side. »

” It’s quiet “

For seven years, until their daughters left the nest, the family took full advantage of the two terraces. A whirlpool bathtub has been installed in a corner of the terrace, which is open to the living room.

“It’s quiet, we don’t have a neighbour,” says Sylvie Searle. There is no one on either side or above. If we want to have a party on the roof, we don’t bother. We’re on the eighth floor and the nearest neighbor is on the sixth. Being on the eighth floor, moreover, it is very pleasant. There is not much wind. The other buildings are quite far away. We have an open view of the surroundings and it is sunny all day. »

With its two terraces, the apartment occupies 22% of the space of the building, which is reflected in the condominium fees. The building has only 10 apartments, however there are few common spaces and equipment to maintain. There is no gym, swimming pool or common terrace on the roof. “Everyone knows each other and the building is well managed by co-owners,” says Ms.^me Searle. There is no short term rental, it is one year minimum. Several co-owners live here. We talk a lot. It’s like a small community. »

The girls having left, the apartment turns out to be too spacious for their parents, who spend a lot of time in the Eastern Townships, where they have a business. “I am a little more often in Montreal than my husband, to be close to our daughters, underlines M^me Searle. We took another apartment, which is more of a pied-à-terre. We had some very good times here. But it got way too big for our needs. »