Developer:                  Urban Capital

Project address:         453 Bank St. (Centretown)

Sales opened:            March 28, 2008

Units:                         223

Known sales:             53%

Avg. sales/month:      13.2 (2008, over 9 months)

Avg. price:                 $425/sq.ft.

Unit sizes:                  468 – 1,935 sq.ft.

The Urban Capital boys have done it again. With HGTV cameras in tow, they threw open the sales office for Central at the end of a snowy winter, the night after a brokers- and friends-only invitational pre-opening where many investment units were snapped up. Throughout the rest of opening weekend, buyers were given “appointments” with sales staff. Little did people know that there were dozens of people with appointments for the same time. Prices went up at least three times over the weekend.

By the time the dust cleared, over half the units were spoken for. Relatively few rescissions in the following days have left the project on solid ground and with an astonishing sales rate.

Then again, Urban Capital has done this before. Their Toronto marketing experience shows how much catching up our local industry still has to do. The excitement and momentum they engineered for the launch demonstrates a slick savvy that is rare for Ottawa. This is to their advantage, of course.

Central is popular with young buyers and investors. So much so, in fact, that many of the two-bedroom designs didn’t sell. Urban Capital had to go back and split up some of their larger units into smaller ones to get sales rolling after the initial frenzy.

STRENGTHS

Location. Young buyers don’t mind that end of Bank Street. Barrymore’s and the Royal Oak are nearby, and so is Elgin Street. There’s a large grocery store. They can walk to work if they work downtown. In fact, the building will probably add some much needed shine to that stretch of Bank Street, to the benefit of future owners. And the Glebe is just a few blocks away.

Layout.  Urban Capital is known for its unit layouts that maximize space in ingenious ways. Central is no different. Also making this building special is the inner green courtyard, invisible to passers-by, between the two main wings of the building. The retention of the historic Bible Church façade, and the placement of a party and media room behind its arched windows, was smart.

Green appeal.  Younger buyers are enviro-conscious. Central is LEED-Silver registered (LEED is a certification system for environmental building techniques and materials). It will offer Vrtu-Car memberships to buyers. It will have green roofs and a rash of other enviro features.

WEAKNESSES

No perceptible weaknesses. This project caters to first-time buyers and, though the units are small, they are priced well enough to keep drawing young buyers. Sales at Urban Capital projects typically balloon at the launch, then slow down until construction starts. Ground should be broken this year on Central, which will spur another wave of sales.

2009 FORECAST

For young professionals with a steady job, this building will remain the best option for entry into home ownership. And with Centretown rents being the highest in Ottawa and the rental vacancy rate on its way down, investors will remain part of the picture at Central.

• 75 sales
• Construction will start