Bridgeland Real Estate

[JLau]

Been looking at bridgeland condos, anyone have any feedback on Steps and Crossings?

[borN]

I've been looking at inner city condo's pretty diligently recently...

Steps: Overly modern and "hipster". I find the appliances and layouts can be over the top, and it ultimately takes away from the floor plans. I thought the bathrooms were good, but the kitchen was a turn-off compared to other developments like Crossings. I liked the layouts of the penthouse units. Pricing was reasonable, probably under average price per sq ft, and condo fees were cheap as well, but only because they didn't have much for amenities and it's corridors are all outdoors...which I personally do not like.

Crossings: I liked this one a lot, so much so that I almost bought it. It's 8 stories tall, except for the mid section which is 11 stories tall. If you're overlooking downtown, you'll want to be above floor 6 because across the street, Steps is 6 stories and McPherson is 4 stories (I think). The layouts were good; I particularly liked the B2 and RTC plan. I was very interested in the B2 because it was on the 10th floor (sub-penthouse) for $490,000 and it was a corner unit overlooking downtown and west end. The RTC is also overlooking downtown and has a 200 sq ft balcony, but it's slightly less interior square footage and doesn't have a mud room closet. IIRC, condo fees are $0.40 per sq ft. Finishings on the unit were not as modern as Avenue, not as hipster as Steps, but not as old as some other condo developments out there so it's a good median.

[JLau]

McPherson is 6 stories, I like the 9th flr N plan with the large balcony, which will overlook the McPherson building. The only problem is 350k for a 1 bedroom rental doesn't make much sense for cash flow. Plus the condo fee is quite a bit more compared to Steps. Builder for Crossings is much more reputable.

[borN]

Ohh ok, then for sure you'll want to be above the 6th floor. Yeah I wouldn't do 350k for a 1 bedroom, especially since you can get close to that pricing at Avenue or other downtown properties which would be easier to rent out. The 2 bedrooms though might be more reasonable. If I were to buy from Crossings, I'd buy 7th floor+, or buy a courtyard view.

If you're looking for a rental unit though, Steps might be good. I just would hate to live in it myself.

[BigMass]

trying to figure out why I'd want to pay downtown pricing and not live downtown

[flipstah]

Interesting opinions, borN.

I saw STEPS on an ad & asked about pricing/payment options.

Their layouts seem small after going through the website though.

[borN]

Originally posted by BigMass
trying to figure out why I'd want to pay downtown pricing and not live downtown

I somewhat agree - it's pretty pricey but units are on the lower end of average downtown pricing and somewhat inline to East Village. The benefit I guess is that it's a train stop away from being in downtown.

I've lived in Victoria Park before and my major quarrel was it is hard to get out of downtown, regardless of direction, between 4:00 to 6:00 PM. I guess you have a bit more optionality if you live in Bridgeland since you can dodge some traffic on residential streets, depending where you live. The main appeal for me was that it's very close to deerfoot, memorial and 16th, giving you easy access to major roads that go across the city.

[BigMass]

Originally posted by borN


I somewhat agree - it's pretty pricey but units are on the lower end of average downtown pricing and somewhat inline to East Village. The benefit I guess is that it's a train stop away from being in downtown.

I've lived in Victoria Park before and my major quarrel was it is hard to get out of downtown, regardless of direction, between 4:00 to 6:00 PM. I guess you have a bit more optionality if you live in Bridgeland since you can dodge some traffic on residential streets, depending where you live. The main appeal for me was that it's very close to deerfoot, memorial and 16th, giving you easy access to major roads that go across the city.

yeah I'm not saying the location is bad. Its great, just the pricing in this city is getting completely out of hand. Developers think they can get $450k+ for any 750sqft box with the same tacky ikea finishings, engineered hardwood and ghetto high end german appliances that break down every two weeks. Its one thing to charge crazy prices in crazy locations, but its not like Calgary is running out of development space in the beltline. Maybe in 100 years.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by BigMass


yeah I'm not saying the location is bad. Its great, just the pricing in this city is getting completely out of hand. Developers think they can get $450k+ for any 750sqft box with the same tacky ikea finishings, engineered hardwood and ghetto high end german appliances that break down every two weeks. Its one thing to charge crazy prices in crazy locations, but its not like Calgary is running out of development space in the beltline. Maybe in 100 years.

Pricing for STEPS isn't TOO bad.

2bdrm 784sqft is $387k to start. 1bdrm 468sqft starts at $250s.

East Village is just a development I can't wrap my mind into. The Drop-In Centre is still the oddball there.

[Disoblige]

What the hell... 468 sq-ft for a one bedroom.. Makes Keynote seem big

That's so small. I'm so glad I snagged a 720 sq-ft one bedroom; it seems like these developments are trying to squeeze as much as they can get from downtown condo buyers now.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by Disoblige
What the hell... 468 sq-ft for a one bedroom.. Makes Keynote seem big

That's so small. I'm so glad I snagged a 720 sq-ft one bedroom; it seems like these developments are trying to squeeze as much as they can get from downtown condo buyers now.

You think that's small? You should see the layouts they have for studios.

[BigMass]

Originally posted by Disoblige
What the hell... 468 sq-ft for a one bedroom.. Makes Keynote seem big

That's so small. I'm so glad I snagged a 720 sq-ft one bedroom; it seems like these developments are trying to squeeze as much as they can get from downtown condo buyers now.

TBH I like the small sizes if the layouts are done efficiently.... IF IF IF the price reflects the smaller sizes which it usually doesn't. That's the problem. Lots of high end markets in the US function on price/sqft. In Calgary it seems that all studio / 1 bed / 2 bed are being priced the same regardless the size so developers are going smaller and smaller and charging the same, drive up price/sqft to insane levels rivaling NY in a lot of new downtown developments. Which is downright ridiculous. I don't want to hear $800-$1000/sqft unless it's in the same sentence as "Manhattan, Paris, London, Hong Kong" etc. Even though I'm looking for a place, I'm having a tough time justifying these prices.

[ercchry]

i dont understand how bridgeland can demand these prices for condos when you can still snag original detached homes in the area for under $500k

$414k for a duplex... built in 1998!

http://beta.realtor.ca/propertyDetai...rtyId=13852023

[Disoblige]

ercchry I know what you're getting at, but usually you don't see people cross shopping a 400k+ duplex built in '98 with a new condo ~low-mid 300s built in '13-'15.

[ercchry]

no, but you also are not getting a 2 bed 2 bath 1400sqft condo for low to mid 300s either

i get it for high-rises in the core... but thats because... well, you dont see many residential homes in the core

i also just grabbed the dulpex since there isnt much beyond land value for close to $400k right now... that being said they do pop up. i almost grabbed a detached home across the street from a park with downtown views for $380k last year in bridgeland. but as you can imagine it went quick.

[Disoblige]

Guess so, I don't really understand Bridgeland either. The only good thing I like about it is that it's close to the train station, but so is Victoria Park for condos there.

The thing about both stations is that both are NOT free-fare zones. They either need to change the system where you pay more the further you go, or make Victoria Park/Bridgeland a free-fare zone. Otherwise, I'm going to keep not paying transit fare when I board the train to those stations. Such a stupid money grab.

Seriously, who the fuck is going to pay $3.00 to board the train one stop to either of these stations? But I digress..

[ercchry]

since moving inner city i have found bicycle>all

pretty much no hills, no waiting for anything (train, traffic, etc) park anywhere.. the best

[borN]

Haha I wouldn't pay the $3.00 either. I think it's just the generation of people who want to live close to downtown and in condo's. I'm one of them myself - I realize I could buy a house in the suburbs or a duplex inner city with the money I'm spending, but the appeal of condo living on a high floor with little to no worries is great for me.

I've had to change my market expectations a lot over the past three years because of how inflated the market got compared to when it pulled back. But from the looks of it, and I'm not an expert, but I think Calgary pricing will stay stable if not continue to grow due to population growth, how backed our city is from petro-dollars, and general bullish thoughts on the oil & gas industry as a whole. I think you would be able to rent out either Crossings or Steps fairly easily and it'll be a good cash flow unit, but I agree in that it should be discounted compared to downtown pricing. However, given prices downtown nowadays, isn't it?

[BigMass]

Originally posted by borN
Haha I wouldn't pay the $3.00 either. I think it's just the generation of people who want to live close to downtown and in condo's. I'm one of them myself - I realize I could buy a house in the suburbs or a duplex inner city with the money I'm spending, but the appeal of condo living on a high floor with little to no worries is great for me.

I've had to change my market expectations a lot over the past three years because of how inflated the market got compared to when it pulled back. But from the looks of it, and I'm not an expert, but I think Calgary pricing will stay stable if not continue to grow due to population growth, how backed our city is from petro-dollars, and general bullish thoughts on the oil & gas industry as a whole. I think you would be able to rent out either Crossings or Steps fairly easily and it'll be a good cash flow unit, but I agree in that it should be discounted compared to downtown pricing. However, given prices downtown nowadays, isn't it?

I'd say those factors would be valid if we had a supply shortage. Ok, we do, but it's temporary. In Manhattan the supply is short and its almost impossible to effectively increase it. You need to demo a 40 unit building and put up a 60 unit building. Hardly worth it. Calgary core and beltline has so much space and small old buildings that could easily be demoed and replaced with a high-rise. The only problem is how slow things move here. I don't buy into artificial prices and artificial shortages based on floods, low interest rates and how slow builders are here. Places like London, Manhattan, Hong Kong have once huge issue. No more land. Calgary has tons of land left in prime locations. You could probably fit the entire population of Calgary inside the beltline easily and comfortably if we had the building density that those other cities do. So I just don't see these prices being justifiable unless you're into panic buying or worried about inflation

[cherpintow]

Originally posted by ercchry
i dont understand how bridgeland can demand these prices for condos when you can still snag original detached homes in the area for under $500k

$414k for a duplex... built in 1998!

http://beta.realtor.ca/propertyDetai...rtyId=13852023

You'd want to make sure that wasn't flood damaged...