THE CITIZEN OTTAWACITIZEN.COM/HOMES SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009 I9 HOMES THE BUILDERS DAVID CHOO

ASHLEY FRASER, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Condo sales are booming in Ottawa, including a VIP launch at 111 Richmond earlier this week. Within 90 minutes, 95 condos were reserved .

BY PATRICK LANGSTON builder went bankrupt, Choo promises a spectacular view took over and his entrepre- of Parliament Hill and the avid Choo is certain neurial spirit has never wa- Gatineau. Condo residents Ottawa is cos- vered. will have access to the hotel’s mopolitan-bound. COSMOPOLITAN That entrepreneurial drive restaurant along with other And that’s just fine and urban vision have run amenities. Dwith the ambitious afoul of some folks. Ashcroft’s The project, which will president of Ashcroft Homes, plan to erect a 20-storey seek an environmentally con- an entrepreneur who has es- building on the Opus site and scious LEED (Leadership in tablished himself during the a second tower on the Energy and Environmental past 17 years as a mover in Ot- Gilmour Street resulted in a Design) silver rating, will be tawa’s urban housing market. MR.CHOO community firefight. Plans launched next year. Upscale urban growth is were whittled back to the “It will be iconic,” promises Ottawa’s inevitable evolution- nine-storey Opus and a sev- Choo. “It’s going to give Ot- ary path, says Choo. en-floor seniors’ residence on tawa something that will help “So much of what we’re The president of Ashcroft Homes is committed to urbanizing Gilmour. to define it as a world-class seeing thrive in the city, the capital, starting with a trio f condos on Richmond Road and “Compromise is hard when city. whether it’s the ByWard you’re passionate about what “Politicians and visiting Market or Westboro or the a condo-hotel-office complex facing the Mall you do,” he says. business people will use it. It’s Glebe, that’s urban living, His professional ardour — going to be a modern foil to not suburban.” “My wife says I don’t work, I the grand old lady, the As he sketches his picture “It’s time to challenge our just pursue passions,” he Château (Laurier).” of urban life, Choo, an engi- municipal leaders to have a jokes — has now taken Choo With the re and a dozen or neer by training, developer by vision for the future,” he says, downtown. so other projects to his credit happenstance and a man now leaning forward, eyes After years as an eyesore of or in development, Choo has seemingly lit from within by gleaming with conviction as boarded up buildings and a evolved into a diversified his passion for building, he runs a hand through his parking lot, the “Canlands A” builder, says John Herbert, ex- slouches behind his large, perpetually-rumpled hair. “It site between Sparks and ecutive director of the cluttered desk in Ashcroft’s can’t be a vision that says we Queen streets just west of Greater Ottawa Home south-end offices. can be the same as we are to- was last year Builders’ Association. Unlike the trim buildings day.” approved by its owner, the “He’s cherry-picked build- he erects, Choo’s large corner Choo has forged a life out National Capital Commis- ing forms that have done well office is a catastrophe of piled of not being the same. sion, for development by in Ottawa.” building plans, banker’s box- Guyana-born, he came to Ot- Ashcroft. And does this urban-loving es, and his jacket and coat tawa in 1971 to study engi- The company will build the fellow have a favourite spot in tossed on top of a table. neering at Carleton Universi- re, a linked two-building pro- the city? From here, the 57-year-old ty. He subsequently launched ject — six storeys on Sparks Several, actually, he says. Choo runs a company that’s CML Technologies to build Street, 17 on Queen — that They include Dow’s Lake, built everything from Man- communications systems. Af- blends condos, a boutique ho- where he jogs early on week- hattan Square in Bells Cor- ter selling the company in tel, some offices and a stylish, ends. “The vistas of the lake ners, an infill project of af- 1990, he became a passive in- ground-floor food market. A are so wonderful, you feel like fordable townhomes, to ur- vestor in land. When the sky lounge on the 12th floor you own the city.” ban villages, including Cen- tral Park bordering the Cen- tral Experimental Farm and CitiPlace next to Colonnade Business Park. At these sites, single-family homes and townhomes rub elbows with shops, lofts, con- MODELSUITENOWOPEN dos and retirement living. The company has also spun off Alavida Lifestyles, an op- eration that’s busily building CHRIS MIKULA, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN retirement campuses across Ashcroft President David Choo watched this week as eager the city. With five sites at investors lined up to buy at 111 Richmond, bottom left. He varying stages of develop- has plans for a condo-office-hotel on Sparks Street, right. ment, the campuses offer lux- ury retirement residences bought at the end of October Eastboro in Orléans. with optional restaurant for more than $10 million. He Choo’s urban vision is gain- meals, housekeeping services plans to preserve the chapel ing traction, according to and some assisted-living and significant portions of Roderick Lahey, the Ottawa suites. the former convent, but is still architect who designed the Lately, Choo seems bent on mulling over ideas for the Richmond Road condos and capturing the title of Wizard rest. the more traditional Opus of Westboro. His brick-and- “These three properties are condo on the former Canadi- glass condo development, 101 the gateway to Westboro, an an National Institute for the Richmond Road, is all about area that’s evolving into Blind site at O’Connor and urban chic, thanks to its mixed use. That’s what peo- McLeod streets. ground-level commercial ple find exciting. My two “All his projects,” says La- space. The building is almost daughters (both twentysome- hey, “especially in Westboro, sold out. thing professionals) and their are real city building projects. The neighbouring sequel, friends are my sounding What I really like about work- Don’t 111 Richmond West, will add board. ing in traditional main-street another 156 condo units and “When I ask them where areas is increasing the com- sexy amenities, including a they want to live, they say, mercial activity in the city.” rooftop terrace to the trendy ‘Westboro and condos.’” Ottawa must embrace such overlook neighbourhood. Earlier this “I’m an urban guy. I live in urbanization and smart week, investors and buyers the Glebe, 300 paces from growth, says Choo, who lined up, reserving 95 of the ,” he continues. forces you to agree by fre- condos in a 90-minute buying “Building mixed density is a quently adding “right?” at the Overbrook spree, proving urban sites are lot more exciting than putting end of his sentences. The a hot property. up 1,000 homes in the sub- city, he continues, is at a criti- Across the road just west of urbs.” cal juncture, with citizens sits the five- An early player in mixing hungry for the urban lifestyle, acre, former Les Soeurs de la living and business space in a as opposed to just urban LiveinoneofOttawa’shottest Visitation property Choo former Canada Post building working. off Bank Street in the Glebe, up-and-coming neighbourhoods Ashcroft is doing selected (Ottawa Magazine,April/May2009) suburban building, including Visit our River Court Lofts is nestled in the quaint and ‘I’m an urban guy. model today! established neighbourhood of Overbrook, I live in the Glebe, 950MargueriteAvenue makingitclosetoamenitiessuchasgrocery 300 paces from Bank Saturday and Sunday stores, St. Laurent Centre, and The Ottawa Noon–4 p.m. Street,with a shared Trainyards—andonlyashortwalkfromthe Weekdays by appointment Rideau River and Ottawa’s downtown core. driveway.Building mixed density is a lot more exciting than putting up 1,000 homes in the suburbs.’ 613-842-5050 domicile.ca DAVID CHOO, Developer.