On Nov. 19, N3 Condo in Calgary’s East Village broke ground. The project, a joint effort between Calgary-based Knightsbridge, Toronto-based Metropia and the Calgary Municipal Land Corp., is Alberta’s first car-free condo. The 167-unit development was launched for presales in mid-September and was 75 per cent sold after 30 days on the market. Only two months later, the project entered the construction phase.

According to Knightsbridge, the rationale for the car-free condo was to have the master-planned East Village community appeal to the Millennial demographic. It also cost significantly less by removing the cost of waterproofing an underground parking garage.

“With East Village being at the junction of two rivers, the water table is quite high, thus making underground parking very expensive due to the waterproofing requirements,” said Joe Starkman, Knightsbridge President, in a press release. “Underground parking will average between $50,000 and $60,000 per stall in this part of downtown. By deleting the parking, we were able to offer apartment condo units starting at $199,900.”

With the purchase of a unit, which come in one- and two-bedroom configurations, condo owners will also receive a Biria Bicycle, an urban bicycle that is made to accommodate riders in business attire; a $500 credit to Car2Go Calgary, a car share program; a $500 credit to Enterprise Rent a Car; and a full furniture package from IKEA Furniture. N3 is also located only 175 metres away from the City Hall LRT Station. Calgary’s LRT is a free service within the downtown region.