Downtown Montreal Skyline at night, from la place de la cathedrale to the edge of Griffintown.
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Several new high-end developments have come to the downtown district of Quebec’s largest city in recent years, delivering penthouse-caliber luxury to the center of a city steeped in history and tradition. In 1111 Atwater, Le Sherbrooke, The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Montreal, Victoria Sur Le Parc and 1 Square Phillips, current and future residents have the opportunity to savor dramatic views, pampering amenities and opulent interior features and finishes, as well as settings close to all Montreal offers.
“In the last 20 years, Montreal has seen significant growth in luxury condos,” says Debbie Lafave, senior vice president at Baker Real Estate.
“It is still a new phenomenon. We’re babies compared to Toronto or New York City, but this is so much under our eyes. More and more, hassle-free condo living is becoming the most desirable lifestyle, and this is an absolute new trend for Montreal, a city that until the 1990s still preferred homes with yards in well-appointed, green suburbs rather than condos in urban areas.”
1111 Atwater
Our tour begins at 1111 Atwater, a flashy array of 15 luxury penthouse condominiums that draw design inspiration from New York City’s five-star hotels. Filling the top eight floors of the 38-story tower situated near everything, 1111 Atwater carves out renown for sightlines that extend from downtown to Old Montreal and the St. Lawrence River.
In designing the building’s exclusive amenity suite, which includes a fitness center and sky lounge, design principal Andres Escobar, of Montreal-based Lemay + Escobar Architecture, drew on a scintillating palette of enviable elements that include black Saint Laurent marble and panels of gold-colored onyx mingled with embossed metal panels in hues of rose and gold.
An elegant interior swimming pool provides connections to a cantilevered outdoor terrace affording privileged views of central Montreal. Being called a benchmark for Montreal penthouses, 1111 Atwater was completed this year.
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Le Sherbrooke
Set at the nexus of Montreal’s Golden Square Mile — a slice of downtown urban real estate as much a part of beloved city history as Beliveau and the Richard Brothers — this Broccolini development established a record for sales velocity when fully 60% of its units had gone under contract only one week after the grand opening of its sales office in late 2021. The property features 515 homes ranging from studio layouts to penthouse residences, with an entire floor of exclusive amenities reserved for buyers of upper-floor penthouses and executive domiciles.
Among the luxurious amenities is the fireplace-adorned conservatory room, which harkens to the conservatories that were favored features of magnificent Golden Square Mile mansions of the early 20th Century. Le Sherbrooke also serves up a private rooftop terrace featuring a pool and fitness facility exclusively for penthouse owners. All the common-area amenities were designed by prolific design house Lemay + Escobar, which in addition to its local headquarters has an office in New York City.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Montreal
This new Ritz-Carlton serves up some of the most eye-catching contemporary design in Montreal, while retaining the legendary original Warren and Wetmore-designed façade dating to 1912. Another structure situated in the heart of the city’s Golden Square Mile, The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Montreal features 45 residences aimed at purchasers who desire the five-star amenities along with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel’s iconic service. Amenities include a rooftop pool and patio, as well as the presence of the city’s trendiest modern French restaurant, the much-feted Maison Boulud.
In addition to savoring the spacious living rooms and sumptuous master suites of their residences, owners can access an ala carte array of services that include spa services, housekeeping, in-residence dining, personal chef services, meeting facility and ballroom access and a technology butler to lend aid with any technical questions or needs.
Victoria sur le Parc
Destined to be Montreal’s tallest residential tower, Victoria sur le Parc broke ground earlier this year. The skyscraper’s penthouses promise excellent perspectives on the cityscape south and east to the Saint Lawrence River and to the north to Mount Royal and Victoria Square. An outdoor infinity pool, saunas, fitness center, meditation and yoga room, as well as a terrace at the 54th floor level overlooking the downtown district’s largest expanse of greenery, represent prime amenities.
Through Victoria sur le Parc’s underground, the building is linked to the city’s underground and subway system.
1 Square Phillips
A new second-phase 21-story tower has been launched to complement the 61-story main structure that commenced development two years ago. An interior courtyard and terrace featuring an urban chalet will afford beguiling Montreal skyline views for the residents of 324 soon-to-be-constructed condominium residences.
The new wave of upscale downtown homes has swayed many Boomers to move from their long-time suburban abodes. “Now the most frequent question from our clients is how to fit the furniture from their large homes into their new condos,” Lafave says