Eleva, award-winning rental condo project for empty nesters and retirees

This active community of 208 high-end units awarded Best Residential High-Rise Development by Americas Property Awards

I recently met with Francis Charron, President of Batimo, one of the development partners in this unique project that combines million-dollar condos with high end condo-style rental apartments. The builders have recently won the Americas Property Award for the Best Residential High-Rise Development in The Americas and placed in the Top Five for Best Design in the world, which included projects in Moscow and Johannesburg. That’s an enormous achievement for a company that is just twenty-five years old; and explains why sophisticated investors such as Stephen Bronfman’s Claridge and developer George Armoyan’s CLARKE are investors.

Francis Charron has a unique combination of intelligence, charisma and a driving personality that attracts other successful businesspeople
Photo: Pat Beaudry

Francis Charron is an engineering graduate from the ETS, (Ecole Technologie Supérieure), now second in Canada only to the University of Western Ontario for producing top quality engineers. “My partner and I started with nothing; we were working in his basement. In our first ten years, we increased our business by 10,000 per cent, and we now have $1.4 billion in assets after twenty-five years. We have earned the respect of companies like Chartwell REIT.”

Francis continues to enumerate the development features, and its easy to see why he has gained the confidence of investors, builders and purchasers. “I learned very early in my career from my mentor that it was important to know your market – your customers. The people who are buying our high-end condos are attracted to our unique designs, and the wide range of amenities and services. Those same services will be available to our Boomer generation rental customers. You’re coming back from Florida, and you want the kitchen stocked up? We have an app for that – or just contact us and we’ll have your kitchen supplied for you.”

“We want our customers to have fun here. We have a walking club, a pool, a fitness centre and a movie theatre. We even have a speakeasy called Bootlegger, with a prohibition-style bar, piano, dart boards and of course, a pool table.”

The Eleva retirement rental condo building is located at the intersection of René-Lévesque Boulevard and Atwater Avenue, built on the former site of the Montreal Children’s Hospital. In total, 208 high-end units (ranging from 2 ½ to 5 ½) will be spread over 23 floors in what is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after addresses in Montreal, near a multitude of services and amenities. Occupancy is scheduled for the summer of 2022.

Eleva is within walking distance of tony Greene Avenue and Westmount Square. The apartments have outstanding views of Mount Royal, the St. Lawrence River and Montreal’s sparkling downtown office towers. The entrance of this active community for retirees will be on Tupper Street. With its strategic West End location adjacent to Westmount, Eleva is just a few steps away from many restaurants, shops, grocery stores, banks, pharmacies, health services, parks. The concert halls of Place des Arts, The Museum and the Bell Centre are within a short Metro ride. For people who own a country property, there is easy access to the expressways leading to The Laurentians or The Townships.

The 208 units, ranging in size from 370 to 1,400 square feet are now available for rent with many inclusions at starting prices between $1,387 and $4,246 per month. Residents will benefit from several on-site amenities including a bistro, a private restaurant-style dining room, a cooking show, a 29^th floor panoramic lounge, an indoor pool, a gym, a patio and a golf simulator, in addition to the previously mentioned Bootlegger speakeasy. Meals, housekeeping and personalized care services as well as indoor parking and storage spaces are available.

Recognizing the importance of health care, 1111 Atwater will have a nurse on call, and there are arrangements in place of people with early onset Alzheimer’s.

“We are extremely proud to inaugurate this new project, merged into the same tower as the prestigious 1111 Atwater. Our team has made every effort to offer retirees a living space that meets their expectations. With its evocative name, Eleva promises its residents to rise to a higher level, above the city, thanks to an incomparable quality of life that offers elegance, refinement, comfort, sociability and safety,” noted Francis Charron, President of Batimo and Vice-President of EMD Construction.

The Rental Office is located at 2307 boul. Rene-Levesque West, Montreal, H3H 1R7. 438-858-6808. www.elevamontreal.com