Apartment Look

You know where you are with a beauty hall. It’s a large room – a hall, you might say – and it sells beauty products . Same goes for the men’s department, or the lingerie section. But department stores also have secret spaces, with names that give no clue to their purposes. They all sound the same, and they’re all a bit different, so we found out the lowdown, and now, we’re sharing it with you. Holt Renfrew’s The Apartment has a living room space , kitchen and wraparound patio . - Contributed photo Holt Renfrew The Apartment This is Vancouver’s newest personal shopping suite , and its swankiest. At 1,200 sq ft it’s bigger than most downtown apartments and has its own kitchen, washroom, living and dining areas and a private wraparound patio . Reserved for top clients and visiting celebs, it will also be used for private events and trunk shows. The store also has seven smaller personal shopping suites , and another two in the men’s section. These are open to all customers, free, by appoin...

When it comes to condominium development , Cascadia’s two largest cities couldn ’t be more different. Last year nearly 60 percent of new housing starts in the city of Vancouver, BC , were condominiums; meanwhile, Seattle saw no new condominium buildings open . And that’s not changing anytime soon: less than 10 percent of all building slated for downtown Seattle in the next three years will be condos. What’s the difference—why the blossoming of condominium construction in one city and the almost complete dearth in the other? The short answer is economics. In Vancouver, apartments are saddled with an unfavorable tax code , making condos the more lucrative multi- family housing investment even despite high rental demand . In Seattle’s skyrocketing rental market , one that’s climbed even faster than the condo market in recent years, apartment buildings are much more financially attractive, while condos come with bigger risks and, typically, lower returns. Compounding this profit differe...

Today’s generation of new apartment buildings looks nothing like its dated predecessors. Built to emulate high-end condominiums but with the services and amenities of upscale hotels, these extraordinary vertical communities boast beautiful designs and common spaces to die for. Here’s a look at some of the new, state-of-the art apartments emerging in cities all across Canada and a list of their featured amenities. From East to West and top to bottom, apartment living today is anything but bland. The Alexander Location: Halifax Owner/Manager: Killam Apartment REIT Opening: October 2017 At 22 storeys, The Alexander is a brand new residential development located on Lower Water Street in downtown Halifax. A blend of  modern and historic with its ironstone base and a soaring glass tower , The Alexander will provide residents with convenient access to the popular Brewery Market Square where on- site retailers abound . Building amenities include : a spacious 800+ square foot lobby; a...

Almost 10 years ago, Cactus Club Cafe made an announcement that sent shockwaves across the food world. Rob Feenie, then one of the country’s brightest culinary stars , would be going to work for the Vancouver-based “casual fine dining” chain. The move was calculated on both sides – at the time, Feenie was looking for a stable place to land after walking away from his two restaurants, the result of an acrimonious split with his former business partners. And Cactus Club could cash in on the cachet and street cred a name such as Feenie’s carried at a time when the power of food culture and food television (of which Feenie had been a star) was becoming fully realized. Still, the reaction was swift. “Yikes, Feenie really sold out on this one,” one commenter on the the foodie forum eGullet said at the time. “The power of the dollar!” That announcement was just the start. In the near-decade since, many of the best restaurants across Canada have seen their top talent leave for jobs at c...