70 - Friday, February 20, 1987 - North Shore News & Michael Audain An interview with Michael Audain, President of Polygon Development Limited, the builder of the Somerset Green retirement condaminiums under construction at 29th and Lonsdale, North Vancouver. Q. Everyone seems to ‘e talking about your retirement complex on Lonsdale, can you tell us exactly what you are building? A. Somerset Green is a residence of 137 con- dominium apattments created for people in or approaching the retirement age group. I guess that it is one of the first developments in Greater Vancouver specifically designed for this age group. Q. It’s the old Stoker Farm site, 1 believe? A. Yes, the Stoker Farm was sitting vacant for several years. It seemed to us that it would be a natural site for a retirement complex, so with the support of the Council and staff of the City of North Vancouver we were able to achieve the necessary rezoning, and now the construction of the 77 unit phase is underway with completion scheduled for June. Q. Exactly what type of accommodation are you offering? A. The residences vary in size from cosy one- bedroom suites of 798 sq.ft. to two bedroom and den apartments of 1465 sq.ft. What’s so special about Somerset Green is that it is no ordinary apple box condominium. North Vancouver ar- chitect Graham Crockart has done a great job of designing a great range of suite layouts all carefully positioned to catch those early morn- ing rays of sunshine or distant views. Q. Yes, the views must be remarkable? A. They really are. It seems that well over 80 percent of the apartments have interesting views, either southward toward the harbour or north toward the mountain peaks. Q. Besides the architecture, perhaps you could indicate what else makes Somerset Green dif- ferent from the standard condominium? A. For one thing a great deal of thought has gone into the detailing of the apartments to en- sure that they will suit people in the retirement age group. For example, most of the well equip- ped kitchens have informal eating nooks. The large terrace style balconies are ideal for sitting out. But, let me mention the soundproofing. Retired people tend to stay home more than others so we have installed extra soundproofing “material to dampen the noise transmission bet- ween the units vertically and horizontally. We don’t pretend that the apartments will be com- pletely noiseproof, but certainly we have gone beyond the industry standard. Q. What about security? A. Yes, security is very important to people these days. In addition to a video-monitored front intercom, we will be installing an intruder security sysiem in each apartment plus emergen- cy call buttons for medical purposes which will be monitored on a 24-hour basis. Q. Do you have any recreation facilities? A. My goodness, yes! That’s something else that makes Somerset Green very attractive. There's a tastefully furnished resident lounge for parties, a lap pool and exercise room for workouts, a whirlpool spa for therapy, plus hobby rooms and, a medical examination room. Somerset Green will even have its own activities co-ordinator to help residents plan programs. There’s another feature that I should men- tion. In Phase II of the development there will be two guest rooms which can be used by residents for putting up visiting relatives and friends if they don’t feel there is room for them in their own apartment. We understand these guest rooms have been very popular in other retirement complexes. Q. How are Somerset Green residences finish- ed? Do they have luxury specifications? A, Well, ‘‘luxury” is a word that is used pretty loosely these days. If ‘“uxury’’ means six foot soaker tubs, mirrored closet doors, brass plum- bing fixtures, marble faced fireplace hearths and oak entry thresholds, then certainly Somerset Green’s in the luxury category. We were for- tunate to get the opinions of many people in- terested in moving to Somerset Green about the features that they would like to see in the development. Most of them told us that they were a little bored with the homes in which they had been living for many years, and were now looking to spoil themselves with a little luxury and convenience. That’s why we have put lots of special touc “es into Somerset Green like roll- out pot drawe._, decorative kitchen wallpaper, and European style kitchen cabinets to produce “‘the gracious life style’’.