With all the growth in Edmonton over the past five years, it’s been easy to overlook a recent trend: Our city is getting smaller. That is, many people are choosing to live smaller, and not because they have to.
There is no physical reason Edmontonians need to live more densely – unlike Vancouver, New York City and Toronto, the one thing we have is space. But people have more personal reasons for choosing to live small.
Like most of the city’s recent growth, micro condo living started central, and it doesn’t get more central than Ultima Condominiums, which sprouted up a block south of Rogers Place in 2016. There are seven units on each of the 27 suite floors, one of which measures 515 square feet, and others ranging up to 665 sq. ft. It’s compact luxury, surrounded by some of the city’s best food and entertainment. It’s what Dylan Kelley wanted when he studied the Ice District plan before cranes crowded the city’s core. “I bought it pre-construction, knowing eventually this would all be here,” he says. To furnish the suite, Kelley enlisted the expertise of Niki Flis from Flis Design. She has spent much of her career in the sprawling suburbs, but has outfitted more condos, micro and otherwise, as of late. “This was definitely the most challenging, in terms of layout,” she says. “I ended up using masking tape on the floor, to mimic the pieces down to the inch, to help the flow.”
The result is a posh living space with navy blues and olive greens taking leads from the black walls and white wainscoting, filled with round tables and low, deep couches to maximize the space and scenery. With Flis’s signature standout lighting fixtures – the “jewellery of the space” – it has the look of a luxury hotel, where every suite has a view. But not everyone can afford stylish quarters, and not everyone wants to. This was the demand Ivan Beljan met when Beljan Development built a 21-suite addition to the historic 19-unit Crawford Block building, across from the Old Strathcona Farmers Market. “When we first develop anything, we start off with who’s our renter, who’s our demographic?'” Beljan says. “Being Whyte Avenue, you think exclusively the 18 to 30 crowd, but as time went on, we realized it’s more about people wanting a carefree, minimalist life, not anchored to possessions, with the freedom to be flexible. We’re seeing here it’s not so much an age thing, it’s a way of life.”
Tiny living isn’t for everyone and, like the big cities from which it has taken cues, Edmonton will eventually envelop its surrounding communities, even as the small and central trend continues. But for people of all demographics, whether for reasons personal, practical, economical or environmental, living happy can mean living small. Go Big
Of course, not all central living is small, though condo living is quite different from a detached home, and with new downtown condo developments comes the surest sign of luxury living: The high-rise penthouse. Four sub units below the massive 2,706 sq. ft. penthouse crown the Ultima tower, creating 180-degree views that didn’t exist just a few years ago. Dylan Kelley moved into one of the smaller sub penthouse units, but maintains his micro-condo and rents it out, about a year after returning to Edmonton. It was a move sadly precipitated by his father’s sudden passing, after which he rebranded the family’s land sale business. “I started as a kid, riding around with him to different counties, doing deals,” he says. Kelley’s now carrying on his family’s legacy, symbolized best by his father’s cherished desk, which comes with Kelley no matter which downtown development he occupies. “There have been lots of deals done on this desk,” he says. When it comes to its decor, no project is without challenges, but for designer Niki Flis, the altitude provides interesting opportunities. “For the sub-penthouse that I’m designing, I’m not even doing drapery,” she says. “The whole point of the floor plan is to see the city, so I just want to let the light in.”
Like the micro units below, deep, low furniture fills the middle of the unit, leaving sightlines unobstructed and open access to each patio – even the television is mounted on a pillar away from the windows. The 10-foot ceilings allow room for a massive dining room chandelier and a custom made, antique-walnut stained, red oak ceiling treatment over the kitchen. The canvas-like white walls brighten the space further, detailing the walnut counters and highlighting the pops of dark green throughout.
The northeast unit also provides the clearest view of what may end up being the city’s best, in terms of downtown living – the 36 floors of the Sky Residences in the Stantec Tower, which will be south of Rogers Place and overlook the future home of the Public Plaza. Like Ultima, Sky units will range starting from 556 square feet, and be walking (or biking) distance to pretty much everything downtown, largely connected by pedway systems. Taken all together, it starts to look like Big City developments in a town that’s long lacked a vibrant core. One could argue it’s all long overdue, but you can’t deny the progress so far, and all the sky scraping signs of a city reaching its prime.
This article appears in the May 2018 issue of Avenue Edmonton
