Arlington

This good-looking eight-storey concrete building was put up in 1964 as a rental apartment building, then was condo-converted and fully renovated by InvestPlan Properties in 2001.

All 41 suites received in-suite laundry hookups with the dryers vented to outside (not all are, you know), maple living/kitchen flooring, maple kitchen cabinetry with white appliances, and all new fixtures and trim, right down to the doorknobs. Common areas were also improved including a slate-tile lobby floor, all new wall and door finishes, and even new roofing overhead.

There is an array of floor plans, the smallest one-bedroom suites being 506 square feet, with two-bedroom suites of 861 to 947 square feet, and three suites as large as 1,006 square feet. Parking is all assigned common-property outdoors, with a few cars tucked under the building. There's no basement here but there are storage lockers and a bike storage room off the lobby. Every suite has a balcony or a patio and upper floors have nice views either east or west. Some green thumbs live here, because the front lawn and flower gardens are lovingly maintained by volunteers behind a new white-vinyl picket fence.

'Last I checked dogs authorized by the Board are permitted at Arlington House Condos. The building's exterior windows and doors are common property. I have all suite floor plans and the Condo Plan on file.