Harcourt Estates

Built as a condominium tower from the outset in 1979 and completed in 1981, this concrete 10-storey tower is identical to Hallmark Estates a block away at 1323 on Fifteenth Avenue. Both were built by the same people at the same time from plans that are identical, but mirror images of each other. The similarity stands out from a distance, when you can see the distinctive orange sloping metal roofs. That means Harcourt Estates also houses six two-level penthouse suites, four of which have those lovely private corner-set roof-top decks that are rare (although not so rare that I don't have one of my own!). I keep a list of where to find these, so if a roof-top deck is what you need, let me know.

The six Harcourt Estates penthouses offer at least 1,000 square feet., ranging up to 1,209 square feet of interior space. They each have a double-height vaulted ceiling and a loft, which for the four corner suites has a door to their roof deck. Of course each corner penthouse also has a standard balcony off the living room. The loft space doubles as a bedroom, although it's open to below. If you need two fully-closeable bedrooms, this layout wouldn't do, but I'll trade a bedroom for a loft and a roof deck any day.

As with its sister building, Harcourt Estates was a condo building from the outset, so has never been a rental property. The 48 suites are served by two elevators. There's both indoor heated assigned parking and covered surface assigned-property parking stalls. The main floor has a large lobby, an office, and a storage-lockers area. All suites also have in-suite laundry with the dryer vented to the outside, a wood-burning fireplace, and every two-bedroom suite I've seen has one and a half bathrooms.

A few one-bedroom suites here measure 602 square feet, but more common are two-bedroom homes of 878 square feet, with the penthouses being larger. Exterior windows and doors at Harcourt Estates are common property, so are covered through the condo contributions and the Reserve Fund savings. I have the condo plan on file.