After hopeful home buyers lined up for a chance to secure their stake in a new condo development, 99 buyers came away with golden tickets - and a new real-estate investment.
The condo project, in the former Seville Theatre on Ste. Catherine St. in Shaughnessy Village, had hundreds settling in to chairs prepared to spend Friday night on the sidewalk, said Laurence Vincent from Prevel, the development company spearheading the project.
"They were planning to camp out on the sidewalk. Police told us they weren't allowed to stay there and we had to do something about it," said Vincent.
Instead, 500 tickets were handed out to prospective owners, 99 of which were able to return Saturday and place a 30-day refundable deposit on a new home, available in 2012.
The $2000 deposit reserved the unit while buyers like Ben Schwartz secure funding.
"I was ready to sleep outside yesterday evening. I was here for about eight hours," said Schwartz, who was buying two condos – one for each of his children.
"(My son) just started CEGEP, and my daughter is midway through high school, so we'll have a condo for each of them," he said.
Construction began in June on the $100-million project where developers are planning to build 450 condominiums and half-a-dozen stores.
Prevel, backed by Stephen Bronfman, will construct three towers each 11 to 20 storeys high. The units are priced between $150,000 and $300,000.
The Shaughnessy Village stretch of Ste. Catherine St. has seen tough times in recent years, with businesses closing, and problems of crime and homelessness increasing, but Saturday's buyers were confident the area is about to undergo a resurgence.
Professional soccer player Adam Braz of the Montreal Impact reserved himself a corner unit Saturday.
"I'm sure the area is going to become pretty hip," said Braz.
