100-bond-street-east

The construction crews are busy at Atria Development’s 100 Bond Street East rental apartment development in Oshawa, and the first tenants will be moving in, starting in February.

The window installation is almost complete, with the top floor of the 12-storey structure slated to be closed in later this month. Workers are installing studs in suites and corridors, and rough-ins of mechanical and electrical systems will follow.

Even a green roof was rolled out last month on the fourth-floor rooftop of the $60 million-project’s wing, fronting on Bond Street.

“I wanted to do something that was both aesthetically pleasing for residents looking out over the roof and that would also be environmentally friendly,” says Hans Jain, Atria’s president.

The green-roof system consists of pre-cultivated mats of sedums, plants that thrive in dry conditions and in thin soil. The mats are simply rolled out like sod in their new location, providing instant, hardy greenery.

Environmental benefits include the reduction of stormwater runoff and of the urban heat island effect, when the summer sun beats down.

The fact that the 239-suite building has a green roof came as a pleasant surprise to Paul Ralph, Oshawa’s commissioner of development services.

“I didn’t know they were doing that,” Ralph said, adding that he wasn’t aware of any other green roofs in the city.

Atria has anticipated what Oshawa would like to see, Ralph says. His planning department is working on new “livability guidelines” that include green or reflective white roofs on future projects.

The green roof is not the only environmentally friendly feature included in the building. There are four charging stations for electric cars.

About a third of the apartments at the development have already been leased.

“We have a rental office, which we opened in August,” says Jain. “There is a shortage of quality rental units in Oshawa, so there’s been a lot of interest in the building.”

The rental office resembles a condo sales centre featuring suite layouts and bath and kitchen vignettes.

Ann Quevillon, director of sales for 100 Bond, and Dave Percy, who handles sales operations, have been signing up tenants for the building at rents starting at $1,000 for junior one bedrooms.

The future residents, who have put down deposits, “represent a good cross-section of the new Oshawa,” says Quevillon. They include some who work at the recently completed regional courthouse across the street from 100 Bond and professionals in health, engineering and high-tech. The building is also appealing to empty nesters and offers some barrier-free apartments.

What do the future tenants like about the project? Quevillon says they’re taken with the clean finishes and designs and the fact that the building and appliances are brand new.

Each apartment rental also includes a free family membership to Oshawa’s new YMCA, adjacent to the 100 Bond site.

The free Y membership is something Atria is committed to continuing as an annual benefit, says Atria’s Jain.

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