updates regarding the 33st project are found here during the construction phase of the project.
after much debate I finally managed to narrow down the stucco options for the rowhouse project. Selecting these colours can be very difficult. It can take some courage to go with a bold shade. I doubt I wi be accused of a boring palette on this project.
this is the winning combo
I hired a pro crew of medal cladders to install the metal panels. Over the last few days they’ve definitely made an impact. Stucco texture works very nicely with the corrugated metal. The exterior work will be done in two weeks and after that we can attempt to build the garage and landscape.
a drywall contractor I used to use called themselves the ‘white tornado’. It was a highly appropriate name given the mess and clamour of a large boarding crew. They always did a nice job of cleanup at then end. My current drywall crew is right now in the big mess stage of the project. Cleanup will be fairly soon and taping will begin immediately after. Site visits are now possible for those interested in seeing the townhomes.
Hanging the first drywall in the building is to me a giant leap forward and means all the technical challenges are resolved. Once covered with drywal the project tends to be a lot more predictable and city involvement less of a wildcard.
Thanks for the applications. I apologize with the delay in getting back to some inquiries regarding leasing, I have been very occupied by challenges at the project site and of course weather conditions were unfavorable until recently.
I have decided to accept offers on the corner units and priced the middle unit as per the rentfaster advertisement at $1850 including parking. For further background please see the live33st.com blog page.
Here are some answers in advance to likely questions:
Q – How do I make an offer?
A – email live33st.com with your offer
Q – What does the offer need to include?
A – monthly lease payment, garage requirement, and term.
Q – How soon will you accept offers?
A – Over the next week, timing is flexible, we still have a long road ahead until construction is done.
Q – Are offers binding?
A – No, the offer does not become binding until we have had an in person meeting and toured the property, and I have provided you with the ‘offer to lease’ form which we will review together. At that point you will have a brief window to sign the form and provide the lease deposit. If you cannot sign the ‘offer to lease’ the next available candidate will be offered the opportunity to lease the townhouse.
Q – What is the ‘offer to lease’ deposit
A - $500
Q – What will happen to the ‘offer to lease’ deposit
A – It will be applied to your first month rental payment, not to the security deposit which is equal to one month rent.
Q – Is the ‘offer to lease’ deposit refundable
A – No, once you have signed to document and paid the deposit it is non-refundable. At that point you have reserved the townhouse. If you choose to not accept the lease later on, you have no further obligation. If the owner cannot provide you with a townhouse, then in that scenario your deposit would be refunded, this is an unlikely scenario because the townhomes are currently more than 50% complete.
Q – What happens if there are no suitable offers?
A – the townhomes will remain vacant until suitable offers are received.
Q – What is the minimum offer?
A - $1850 is the minimum offer for the 3431 19 ave unit.
Q – What are the other addresses?
A – 2001 33st, east, 3431 19 ave centre, 3435 19 ave west corner.
Q – Is a garage booking mandatory?
A – No
Q – How much should I offer to rent the unit of my choice?
A – Please offer whatever you are comfortable paying for the unit if your choice. If there are no offers provided, the 3431 unit will remain on rentfaster at $1850 during the pre-construction period.
Q – When can I see the site?
A – As soon as the first unit is drywalled the tours can start, check the live33st.com blog page for updates. Drywall is planned to start very soon and is being deliverd now. The units will be in rough ‘construction’ stage with muddy yards and no sidewalks, so do not wear your nicest shoes when visiting a construction site.
Q – What if I live out of town?
A – Site tours may be impossible for out of town applicants, but offers can be made and the ‘offer to lease’ form signed electronically.
Q – What payment terms are acceptable?
A – Email transfer, physical cheque.
Q – Can I change or alter my offer?
A – Yes, your offer is not binding to either party until the document is signed.
Q – Why are you using this offer based system?
A – Market pricing tends to best allocate scarce resources, unfortunately I cannot provide more townhouses as they take years of planning and building to complete.
Q – What are the interior finishes likely to be for the townhouses?
A – Over the coming weeks the website will feature updates on everything from cabinetry to flooring to appliance models, tile and paint codes. All of this will be possible to review on a computer or later in person if needed.
A number of applicants have submitted application packages and I am putting them on hold for now until we can get into the drywall stage of the building and organize some tours. What is going to happen is that based on the large number of approved applicants, we cannot accommodate everyone. Unfortunately we only have three townhouses to offer, and there is a lot of desire to relocate to Killarney. This makes a lot of sense to me, since I live in Killarney and prefer it to many other locations in Calgary as well.
In order to allocate the townhouses, I have concluded I just need to accept offers from approved parties, and from there give each individual or couple a chance to meet me and tour the building. From there we can mutually approve each other and I will offer the lease agreement.
I've also had too many applicants express an inclination to select the east corner unit, with a secondary preference of the west end unit. I understand that unit selection is an important factor in the yes/no decision a person would want to control when deciding where to live. For example, the east unit gets a lot of morning sun, and for someone who works from home that could be an important amenity.
So in summary, I am going to accept offers on the three townhouses. These can be submitted over the next week or two and following that we can finalize the paperwork. The addresses are as follows:
east unit - 2001 33 st sw
middle unit - 3431 19 ave sw
west unit - 3435 19 ave sw.
The middle unit is open to offers at 1850$ per month inclusive of parking in the garage. The end units are available to whomever is approved and will include the garage stall as well. The pricing of these will be dictated by the market and can go up or down. I believe market based solutions tend to work best in allocating products and services and this is a fair way of distributing the townhomes. Thanks again for your interest.
After much discussion and debate with the consulting company we decided on a multi pronged approach to reducing sound transmission among the units. The primary culprit in poor noise suppression in multi family buildings is sloppy install and ill conceived products. Simply stuffing a floor joist cavity with insulation does little to reduce impact noise or vibrations, so we have to decouple the lower level ceiling from the upper level floor. That is done with a rubber clip to hang the drywall off of. In order to muffle the sound more, a layer of mass loaded vinyl is also installed between the drywall and floor joist. Once this is done the drywall needs to be carefully detailed and the gaps between floor and ceiling caulked to reduce sound transmission. Overall this should work, but we wont really know until we try it. Having carpet would have enhanced this effectiveness, but these days nobody likes carpet.
Drywall hangs of the metal channel, and is suspended on a rubber isolation clip.
Since our first posting of a single townhouse (unit 3431 on rentfaster) I have received and screened in (and out) many inquiries, almost too many to keep track of.
As we’ve now reached the application stage I quickly determined we have way too many qualified applicants and not enough homes, even if I make all units available. Perhaps there is an endless supply of good people who want to live in a great neighbourhood in a newly built townhouse that is relatively affordable? Who’d have thought that could be true?
New housing in Killarney is simply way too expensive. My own house costs as much in property tax as I paid in annual rent years ago. Developing new rental housing is next to impossible for ground oriented product based on city polices that prevent the type of homes being built that there is serious demand for. My own community association fought hard with hysterical arguments to oppose the Live33st land use permit in 2016. Fortunately Councilor Evan voted for the project and for that I am continuously grateful. We are now almost two years from when I was able to acquire the property from the seller of an old shack, that illustrates how long it can take to bring new housing product to the market.
For those that haven’t returned their application documents please do so over the next week. Thanks
The warranty provider was next up to inspect the framing and exterior envelope, they like to get in and do this before too much of the building is covered up. This I consider to be the second round of inspections, and can be helpful to avoid problems later. Even having a warranty on the building makes little sense, as I would have to file a warranty claim against myself to then require myself to repair something. I can skirt this entire warranty process by fixing my own mistakes, but unfortunately the large warranty fee was not avoidable.
Framing may be complete, but a site inspection is necessary by the project engineer prior to the City building inspector approving the framing. Minor issues are generally identified and resolved at this point so that the City inspector can be handed a stamped as built letter upon arrival. In my experience handing the City a letter from the structural engineer can ease the process and possibly avoid unwanted delay. There are three independent reviews of the framing before the insulation and drywall can be applied.
There were some minor items highlighted on the structural pages found during the first inspection, already fixed and ready for the building inspector to visit.
We've been fighting with the weather at the job site for the last few weeks with a bunch of snow that refuses to melt. The stucco prep guys were on site and experiencing great troubles setting up the scaffolds on uncertain ground. The north side of the building is continuing to refuse to melt. Despite this there will be some progress over the next few days and we will eventually have warm enough weather to apply the stucco.
Waterproofing the exterior is underway now.
A little marketing really does seem to work as the website has had a tremendous amount of interest over the past few days. I will ensure that I get to every inquiry this week, it has been really busy for me as I am running two different projects plus life related events are ongoing.
I think the website is an excellent way for potential residents to self-screen themselves in or out. The information contained on the pages is intended to show the living spaces, and allow interested parties to determine for themselves if the space is right. I don't know your schedules, family arrangements, or what you want in a home, I am just a builder not a mind reader. I want to lease these homes out to singles, couples, friends and even families who want to stay for extended periods. This is not a project where the landlord is going to cancel the lease to demolish and redevelop, or have family members move in. You could really organize your life around joining the Killarney community by moving into live33st.
Some of the values behind the project are to provide permanent, quality homes for working people to allow more Calgarians to enjoy the location and amenities that Killarney offers. As construction progresses, we will have tours available so you can check out what the houses will really be like. Until then, continue to send in comments and feedback.
So far the marketing campaign has been really low key, virtually non-existent. The building construction is progressing nicely, so it seems like we need to start to get the word out.
This should be visible.
I’ve ordered production of the live33st kitchens. I’m also deep into selecting the interior decoration elements. Expect some interesting texture and designs for wall tile and backsplash.
Kitchen design work is complete.
A break in the weather is allowing the roofers to get the building sealed up permanently. The roof has been delayed as each time we attempted to get the job started there was a large blizzard making work conditions unfeasible. We kept the roof shovelled and clear to avoid a lot of melting and leaking into the house during sunny days. It does not take a lot of sun to melt the snow and have it drip all over inside the building, making a large and annoying mess.
The crew is back and working hard on getting the mechanical systems installed. With the furnace placed in the mechanical room, and duct connected, the final interior framing can begin.
live33st is located in Killarney, a SW Calgary inner city community located near the city centre, footsteps to transit, walkable and bike friendly. Urban townhomes and apartments are available to lease starting summer 2018.
To provide exceptional homes for our residents in Killarney
1. To treat our residents with respect and professionalism
2. To conduct our business in a forthcoming and honest manner
3. To offer housing affordable enough that our community is available to others to enjoy
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