Century Manor

This post is a bit of a crossover with my other blog bramaleablog that is about the satellite city/new town of Bramalea, west of Toronto. The company that built the majority of Bramalea grew with time to become one of North America's largest real estate companies, but sadly went bankrupt in 1995.

During its heyday Bramalea Consolidated Developments Limited (later re-named Bramalea Limited) was involved in a few Ottawa condominium projects including The Riviera towers on Riverside Drive near Industrial, as well as the Century Manor towers as featured in this post.

Located at Baseline Road and Clyde Avenue in Copeland Park, these 3 similar buildings were constructed as a joint venture between the local company Aselford-Martin and Bramalea Consolidated Developments Limited. The plans that I have below are for Century Manor; the other two towers on the site are named Manor Square and Manor Garden. They were built between 1974-1976.

This year (2016) units in the complex have sold from a low of $140,000 up to $250,000 for a large renovated unit.

Courtesy of Google Maps

As was typical of many condominium towers of the time, the buildings have plain facades and the units have straightforward layouts. That said, condominium units from this era are quite large in comparison to those found in newer buildings. In this complex all of the units have very large living rooms, adjacent dining rooms, kitchens with space for a small table, and in-suite storage. The layouts would have been somewhat luxurious at the time with the largest units having ensuite bathrooms and walk-in closets off of the master bedroom.

A curious aspect of the larger plans is there is a second doorway to the units accessing the master bedroom or bedroom area. Typically a secondary entrance to a condo would be as a service door, but not to a bedroom, so I am not sure why these exist.

The complex has amenities that include an indoor pool, saunas, workshop, outdoor pools and a tennis court. This "resort-style" condominium complex is something that Bramalea Limited popularized in the Toronto-area market - and expanded upon on a grand scale at the Riviera gated complex in Ottawa.

As a footnote, I wanted to mention that Ottawa has a history of Toronto-based builders/developers working on local projects. Some have come to stay, while others retreated back to Toronto during harder economic times. Examples that have left the city include Tridel and Great Gulf Homes, while Monarch Homes stayed but is now a part of another Toronto based company, Mattamy Homes, that has entered the Ottawa market. Other Toronto-based newcomers include Urban Capital and Lamb Development Corporation.

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