June 15, 2017 | Andrea Cox

Coming home

Marina and Gavin Reeves returned to the core to recapture their inner-city lifestyle

Marina and Gavin Reeves are busy, young professionals – she's an engineer and he's an accountant. Four years ago, they sold their condo in Connaught and moved to the northeast area of Highland Park, where they purchased a larger home, but they soon realized it wasn't the lifestyle fit that they were looking for. The couple ended up coming full-circle, as their lifestyle epiphany spurred a search for a townhome in the city's core. They wanted a home with outdoor space for their two dogs that was also close to transit, coffee shops and the inner-city action. Plus, it had to be big enough to grow into, as the couple plans to start a family in the near future. They found what they were looking for at Grosvenor Americas' Avenue project, located in Calgary's Downtown West End. CREB®Now: Why did you decide that you wanted to move back to the inner city?

Marina Reeves: We are both downtown people. We both work downtown. We only have one car. The commute from Highland Park, although still relatively close, took us quite a bit longer than when we were living in Connaught. And we really missed being close to places that we could walk to. That is part of our culture and lifestyle.

It was probably in January of this year – we were downtown in the East Village and we were picking up a coffee and walking and we looked at each other and said, "you know, we really miss this." Being able to just go walking and grab a cup of coffee, that is what clicked and we decided right there that we wanted to move back downtown.

CREB®Now: Where did your search take you and what attracted you to the project at Avenue?

Marina Reeves: We definitely wanted to live in the core. We thought about Mission, Connaught, Sunnyside and Hillhurst – those were the key areas that we were looking at. We wanted to have a lifestyle that combined aspects of owning a house with the condominium lifestyle.

We are both downtown people. We both work downtown. We only have one car.

For us, the view wasn't as important as being able to let our dogs out – we wanted to have the patio space. We also wanted greater square footage. To be honest, there wasn't a lot on the market that knit all of our must-haves together. There weren't a lot of options. If there was a townhome that we liked, it wasn't close enough to transit or it wasn't walkable to work or it didn't have the square footage. But Avenue had everything that we were looking for.

CREB®Now: Tell us about your home.

Marina Reeves: It's a two-storey townhome, about 1,400 square feet and the design is a two-bedroom plus den. It's on the podium level of the Avenue tower with underground parking. The finishes are really luxurious and I really like the kitchen design. It reminds me of a European-styled kitchen – clean lines, the cabinets are flat and everything is built in. The walls are also concrete, so the soundproofing is excellent – you would think that it would be noisy being on 5th Avenue, but it is really quiet inside.

The amenities, including the fitness room, are also a plus and the location is amazing. Gavin's commute will be an eight-minute walk – we timed it. And mine, if I take the LRT, will be 10 minutes including walking time.

It's also steps to the river pathways and that was very appealing. It's easy to get to Prince's Island Park, St. Patrick's Island and the zoo.

We are thinking of having a family at some point and so that was something else that we considered when we were looking for a home. It's why we wanted a townhome and at least two bedrooms.

Tagged: Buyer Profile | Calgary Downtown | connaught | Downtown West End | Gavin Reeves | highland park | Marina Reeves