Pioneer condos starting at $785,500, wine cellar included!

The shuttered Pioneer bar is still standing, for now, but its owner is now offering a glimpse of the luxury condos that could someday takes its place in the Pointe-Claire Village.

A huge “lecharlebois.com” advertisement is now attached to the exterior wall of the old Pioneer on Lakeshore Rd. The website offers visitors a virtual tour of the three-storey project composed of four commercial units and 13 large condominium residences connected by an underground parking garage.

The fancy condos are not cheap: A two-bedroom unit (1,260 square feet) begins at $785,500.

“Units offer two to three bedrooms, open kitchens, two full bathrooms with an additional powder room (depending on the unit) as well as ample storage space … an ideal solution for those who are downsizing and don’t want to sacrifice the freedom of space and natural light,” according to the website.

Each of the condo units will feature 10-foot ceilings (in living areas), and an array of other amenitiesaimed at up-scale buyers.

Other amenities include a communal wine cellar, dedicated car wash area, fitness room, virtual 24/7 concierge service, a locker for oversized parcels, a dedicated laundry locker drop off where laundry will be returned “cleaned in a specially designed locker.”

Some of the third-floor units feature large outdoor balcony patios of over 600 square feet.

Ron Francis, a real estate agent with Royal Lepage in Pointe-Claire, has no doubts the luxury Charlebois condos will sell once construction is underway.

“There is a good market for it,” Francis said. “Being close to the lake is a factor, and the village factor adds a bit of panache.”

Francis said real estate is enjoying a boon in Montreal.

“I moved here 40 years ago and I’ve never seen the economy here as strong, and as much general confidence as there is now.”

Francis said market conditions for luxury condos have improved in the West Island.

“One thing that has changed over the past five to 10 years is that people who were downsizing at that time, many of them decided to go west or the Maritimes, but they left Quebec.

“Well, it’s almost the opposite now, where we run into some people who left here in the 1980s or before, and have retired, bought a home and had equity of a million or two, they can come back here and they’re still buying a really, really nice property in that $500,000 to $800,000 range.”

Francis said luxury condos appeal to wealthy West Island couples looking to downsize.

“There are people with one or two million dollars of equity in their present property. And many of these people are going to Florida or somewhere in the winter time. So they’re gone for four to six months, and I think many times they feel better in a secure condo unit than leaving their very nice and appointed home for four to six months.

“Also, they may have grown out of doing the maintenance.”

While opponents deplore the prospects of a huge condo project in the heart of the historic village, condo developer Greg Koegl of Koebra Development has maintained the condos are tasteful and fulfill a market niche for empty-nesters looking to downsize.

No delivery date has been set for le Charlebois as local citizens’ groups are still hoping to have the demolition permit overturned in court.

Pointe-Claire resident Larry Smyth said his major beef with the condo project is its location in the heart of the village, and the loss of the adjacent municipal parking lot.

“I have nothing against condos, but these should have been built somewhere else,” Smyth said.