Developer puts money where his mouth is Plans to live in condo development
Richard White Calgary Herald Saturday, July 05, 2008
The following is part of an ongoing series on Calgary's condo developers, published the first week of each month. A developer with major condo projects in Vancouver and San Diego is not a typical downtown Calgary tenant. The head office of the Intergulf-Cidex Group of Companies is tucked away between Staples and Sundog Printing along Ninth Avenue, across from Shaw Millennium Park (ICGC). The location seems to fit with the company's strategy. Its signature Calgary project is Westgate Park, a three-tower condo development located across from the Westbrook Mall on an old motel/nightclub site -- not a typical place for a highrise condominium. When the 545-unit project was approved in 2005, it was not only the largest condo development in Calgary's history, it was the first major highrise project in decades that was outside the downtown core. While many questioned if there was a market for highrise living in Calgary outside the downtown and Beltline, company president Abed Itani was confident it was an excellent site. Today, two towers -- one 22-storeys high, the other 27 storeys -- are occupied. A 32-floor third building is currently under construction, with unit owners to move in during late 2009 or early 2010 -- right on schedule. Itani says the site was really a "no-brainer" given its proximity to downtown via car, transit and cycling, as well as its closeness to shopping and easy access to the mountains.
The announcement of the new west leg of the LRT, with a station right across the street from Westgate Park, made the decision to build on the site an especially prescient move on Itani's part. He was so confident it was a prime site that he started construction without any presales, demonstrating to prospective buyers that Westgate Park was a bona-fide project. I first met Itani as part of a Calgary Economic Development mission to Dubai in 2007 that included Mayor Dave Bronconnier. Dubai is a Middle Eastern country on the Persian Gulf near Saudi Arabia. Itani, who moved to Calgary in 1984 after growing up in Lebanon, quickly became the host for the group due to his extensive knowledge of the region's culture and economy. During the next few days, as I got to know him better, I was impressed with Itani's extensive knowledge of world politics, culture and real-estate development. He is definitely a big-picture guy. I expect this is why he not only seized the opportunity to redevelop the Westgate site, but he also saw that the Calgary market was ready for something different from the usual big-box condo architecture, with their stucco or brick facades. Utilizing ICGC's experience constructing thousands of condos in Vancouver and San Diego, and its four in-house architects, it decided to engage Vancouver architect Nigel Baldwin to design Westgate Park. Baldwin, a winner of five Governor General Awards, has a reputation for balancing quality modern design with cost-effective buildings, which is important in reducing condos fees. Itani instructed him to bring some West Coast architectural elements to Calgary. This style is characterized by a clean, understated building design with large, floor-to- ceiling glass windows and distinct rooftop elements. We are now seeing more of such condo architecture in Calgary through projects such as arriVa, Chocolate and Union Square.
Baldwin was also instrumental in working with ICGC to strategically orient the buildings on the site, taking advantage of the best downtown, mountain and river valley views, as well as Calgary's abundant sunshine. The result is three, angular pastel green and beige towers, fusing concrete with glass. It will soon be an elegant landmark along Bow Trail, a gateway to downtown from the west side of the city. To date, the Westgate Park project has been a huge success, with the first two towers being completely sold out and more than half of the units sold in the third tower. The penthouse units, often the most difficult to sell, are sold out -- including one penthouse that is 6,700 square feet, and another that is more than 3,000 square feet. The fact that the latter penthouse was sold to a senior Calgary architect speaks to the quality of the architecture, the building and the views. Itani says one of the goals of any ICGC project in established neighborhoods is to improve the community in significant ways. For example, his La Vita project in San Diego's Little Italy won an award for community enhancement. He is modest, yet proud, that the Westgate Park project is benefitting the Westgate community. It replaces a seedy motel and bar with new residents from of all ages and backgrounds. Itani's concern to give back to Calgary led to his allowing the old hotel to be used as a temporary shelter for one year while he worked through the rezoning and development approval process. ICGC is also active in Marda Loop and the Beltline. Treo at Marda Loop -- which is currently under construction along 33rd Avenue in the heart of Marda Loop -- is a truly mixed-use development, with retail at street level, offices on the second level and 52 upscale condos on the top levels. The retail aspect will include Sobey's, a bank and a high-end fashion store, while the offices will be primarily medical. The condos will all have striking views of downtown to the north and the mountains to the south.
Aurora will be ICGC's next highrise condo project. Designed by Bruce McKenzie of McKenzie Poon Architects in Calgary, the design is loosely inspired by the Dutch artist Mondrian. In the 1920s, Mondrian became famous for his cool geometric paintings that combined a grid of vertical and horizontal black lines with rectangles and squares of yellow, blue and red. McKenzie created a bright red element on the 9th Street side of the project that draws the eye from the ground to the roof, and a bold blue element on the 12th Avenue side that also stretches from the ground to roof. Both elements will play off the grid structure of the project's balconies and windows patterns. Aurora will join the Kai Towers on 11th Avenue, and Astoria on 10th Avenue, in transforming the Beltline's Design District into a new hot spot for urban living in downtown Calgary. When asked about what advice he would give to condo buyers in the current Calgary market, Itani says: "You have to ask lots of questions. You have lots of choices; be careful what you buy and from whom you buy." He suggests potential purchasers check builders' track records to see if they have delivered past projects on time, as well as visiting completed buildings to assess the quality of the workmanship after a few years of occupation. Itani also recommends researching how the market has accepted past projects by looking at resale units -- have they appreciated in value, and how long is it taking to sell a condo in the project compared to market averages? He also suggests potential buyers determine what commercial spaces will be on the street level. Things like restaurants and fast-food places can create unpleasant smells, while pubs can cause late night noise. Itani is a man who demonstrates his commitment to quality work by putting his money where his mouth is. He is moving his family into phase three of Westgate Park when it is completed.
I wonder how many other condo developers are able to say that? I know of only a few. Richard White is a Calgary-based writer who has written on art, architecture and urban culture for more than 20 years. He is also an Associate at Riddell Kurczaba Architecture and can be reached at richardw@riddell.ca.