Lamphier: Developer envisions The Pearl as jewel of Edmonton condo towers

Prices up to $2 million expected in 35-storey downtown building aimed at affluent buyers with taste for city living

By Gary Lamphier November 16, 2011

EDMONTON — Is there a market for $2 million condos in a city where the average unit currently sells for about $224,000?

Regency Developments thinks so, and the low-profile, family-run Edmonton firm is putting its money where its mouth is.

Regency’s 35-storey Pearl condo project — on the south side of Jasper Avenue at 120th Street — is expected to be the tallest, most luxurious condo tower in the city by the time it’s completed in early 2014.
With units ranging from roughly $300,000 at the low end to $2 million at the top end, The Pearl is aimed at affluent buyers with a taste for city living, and who see plenty of upside ahead as downtown Edmonton undergoes a dramatic transformation.

“We felt there was a new bar (for quality) to be set in Edmonton, and that’s what The Pearl will represent,” says Raj Dhunna, Regency’s affable young chief operating officer, and the son of company founder Rakesh Dhunna.
“Our marketing slogan is: live the luxury, own the legacy.”

With panoramic views from any of its top 20 floors or outdoor balconies, floor-to-ceiling glass curtain walls and upscale finishings, The Pearl has already attracted more than 1,000 prospective buyers who have registered on its website, Dhunna says.

Regency will host a splashy VIP launch for The Pearl from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at its sales centre a block west of the project site on Jasper Avenue. About 150 suppliers, partners and other guests are expected to be on hand.

“We visited cities like San Diego, Vancouver and Toronto, we drew on condo projects in those cities and figured there was demand for a product like this in Edmonton,” Dhunna says.

“But it has to be done right. We’re not trying to be Vancouver or Toronto. We’re making it fit what Edmonton is ultimately going to be. So we drew on what the downtown plan has to offer and what the arena district is doing as well as the city’s cultural scene. That’s really what we’re trying to tie into.”

Flanked by the Illuminada’s 12-storey twin condo towers to the east and the older, 12-storey Jasper House apartment complex to the west, The Pearl’s soaring profile will soon redefine the city skyline on the western edge of the core.

“It will stand out for sure compared to the buildings surrounding it. It’s going to be unique, and we’re hoping that’s the way Edmontonians see this project,” Dhunna says.
“Hopefully this will be one of those projects where people from out of town say, ‘Wow, that’s a great building.’ So we’re trying to change the way we see the world, and the way others see Edmonton.”
The Pearl isn’t Regency’s first major condo project in Edmonton. Its 22-storey, 116-unit Quest tower — located across from MacEwan’s main downtown campus on 104th Avenue — was completed last fall and is now 75 per cent sold.

Quest’s top-end units are in the $1-million range, and despite a relatively sluggish condo market over the past year, Regency hasn’t dropped its prices.
“We’re not blowing the units out,” Dhunna vows. “When we hit the ground with the Quest we were riding the boom, so we survived the boom and the bust. It wasn’t the easiest thing to go through, but we stuck to our guns because it was our signature project.”

With the city’s proposed downtown arena district taking a big step forward recently, he notes, condo values in the area are likely to benefit in the years ahead.

Meanwhile, Regency has sold all but two units at its 80-unit Madison condo project on Whyte Avenue in the Bonnie Doon neighbourhood, and construction is well underway on its Serenity Gardens project, at 105th Street and 56th Avenue. It includes 30 townhomes and 142 low-rise condo units.

Looking further ahead, Regency hopes to break ground in 2012 on another massive urban condo project, east of the downtown core at Jasper Avenue and 82nd Street. The Edgewater Village project — formerly known as RK East — will incorporate a mix of lowrise and highrise condo towers, plus street-level retail.

“It will take five to 10 years to build out the whole project, that’s the plan. Our goal is to compete with the suburbs for buyers, so units will be priced in the $200,000 range,” he says.

So why is Regency so bullish on the Edmonton market, where average residential prices remain far below the 2007 peak?

“What we’re selling is our quality and our location, and we think now is the time to build in terms of construction costs. They’re steady right now, but with the boom we expect the city to go through over the next five to 10 years, it’s just a matter of time before costs start rising. So now is the time to act,” Dhunna says.

“With The Pearl for example, it’s probably the only highrise condo under construction in downtown Edmonton right now, so there’s no real competition. And with our other projects, we’re focusing on the neighbourhoods and price points that make sense.”

glamphier@edmontonjournal.com
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