Aug. 30, 2017 | Andrea Cox

Centre of the action

Tracey Hodgson secured her ideal lock-and-leave lifestyle with a new Inglewood condo

At 55, Tracey Hodgson is on the cusp of retirement. She and her husband are winding down their business commitments (she owns a beauty supply company) and plan to cycle between periods of work and play. They recently purchased a strata-type lake property in Kelowna and a condo in Las Vegas, and have listed their home in Chestermere. Their vision is to float between the two homes. But with three grown children and a grandchild in Calgary, they wanted a touchstone in the city – a place where they could park themselves at the centre of the action while visiting family. They found what they were looking for in the heart of Inglewood at AVLI on Atlantic Avenue, a collection of 64 condominiums, garden terrace designs and live/work townhomes designed by Jeremy Sturgess of Sturgess Architecture. CREB®Now: What attracted you to Inglewood?

Tracey Hodgson: I didn't really look anywhere else. I knew that I wanted to be on 9th Avenue. I would drive up and down the street and the side streets looking for condos for sale. I've always loved Inglewood – the uniqueness, the history. Every second Friday, I come to Inglewood to shop – I love the little stores. Plus, we are a really active couple, we bike a lot, and the biking is amazing in Inglewood with the river pathways right here.

We also picked Inglewood because we can walk everywhere – it is just so up and coming and there are so many amenities. It's a sweet place already and it's going to be even nicer as time goes on.

We wanted to own a place in Calgary, but we wanted it close to the action and a lock-and-leave type of property. A condo fit the bill.

CREB®Now: Why did you choose to purchase a condominium rather than a single-family home?

Tracey Hodgson: We are in the process of selling our lake home in Chestermere. It's a double lot and it requires lots of maintenance. We are so done with that. We want to spend time traveling. We have a lake home in Kelowna that is strata, so we can just lock and leave, and we have a condo in Las Vegas that we can lock and leave. Our three children and our granddaughter are in Calgary, so we wanted a place here as well. I wasn't going to leave the city and then have to stay in a hotel or with my children when we came back to visit. So we wanted to own a place in Calgary, but we wanted it close to the action and a lock-and-leave type of property. A condo fit the bill. This way, if I want to stay for a week or I want to stay for two months, I can.

CREB®Now: What attracted you to the AVLI on Atlantic project?

Tracey Hodgson: I found the project on the MLS® System online, but when I drove 9th Avenue, I couldn't find it, and then I realized at the time that it was still just dirt. But when I saw where it was located, I just knew that I wanted to live there. We went to the show suite a few times. The building looks so beautiful – it is going to be absolutely state of the art, but still capture the history and uniqueness of the area. Our deck faces 9th Avenue, so we can see all of the action on the street.

Tagged: Avli on Atlantic | Buyer Profile | Chestermere | Condo | Inglewood | Jeremy Sturgess | kelowna | lock-and-leave | MLS® System | Sturgess Architecture