It’s a good thing most freelance journalists don’t interview news sources in our home offices.

There’s a rocking chair for one of you, even though I’m not the Friendly Giant, but the rest of you will have to sit on top of the filing cabinet. Just move that stack of folders. Well, maybe we could talk over coffee in the kitchen, except I haven’t done the breakfast dishes.

Working and living in the same building can save home-based business entrepreneurs money and commute time.

In some lines of work where a client might have to come to your office, working from home can be a problem – it looks like a home, not an office.

But an office-home concept is brewing in Calgary’s Beltline district which combines business and residential uses.

The Paserium, at 6th Street and 11th Avenue S.W., will have two commercial floors, with two-storey loft condos above.

The ground floor will be retail, the second floor offices, and the third floor will accommodate condos designed for home-based businesses.

Selina Leung, president of Pasera Corp., the developer, says the project will have a commercial-looking entrance and a building directory so it will look professional outside, even with the business operator’s residence upstairs. It fits the vibrant nature of the Beltline and Calgary’s entrepreneurial atmosphere.

“Unemployment is low because many people who aren’t employees are doing business on their own,” she says. Working and living in the same place combines two payments into one.

Real estate agent Marlene Swinton, who is marketing the condos, says the first floor of each unit will feature a high ceiling in the main room on the open-concept lower level, blond modern cabinetry, stainless steel appliances and maple hardwood flooring. There are two- or three-sided fireplaces.

The second level starts with a loft at the top of the stairs. There are also rooftop decks and both the main and loft levels have doors to the outside.

Secured parking is also offered.

Interior layouts are fairly open and can be varied to suit the needs of the condo buyers. One customer designs wedding gowns and may include a fitting area with mirrors.

Another is an accounting firm whose layout will be tailored to its practice, says Swinton.

Unit areas range from 1,166 sq. ft. to 1,703 sq. ft., and prices from $198,220 to $286,104 before GST.

Michael Kehoe of Fairfield Commercial, which is leasing the retail space, says the area has become a home-fashion district. Fairfield is looking for specialized retail boutiques for the first floor.

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Calgary developer Apex Corp. will continue to operate independently after its acquisition by Bentall Corp. closed in late October.

When shareholders finalized the deal, it ended a search that had lasted almost two years. Dec. 18 would have been the anniversary of the start of the hunt for a buyer, said Apex president Frank Boyd.

Bentall CEO Mark Shuparski said Apex’s management would stay. “They’ve just changed shareholders.”

Apex operates three divisions: single-family construction, multi-family development and land development.

Bentall has office, retail and residential assets worth more than $1.6 billion in Western Canada, Seattle and southern California.

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Single-family houses remained the bright spot in the building permit picture in October.

The city reports that it issued permits worth $162.6 million last month, a drop of 33 per cent from the $244.3 million in permits issued in October 2000.

Residential permits were worth $104.9 million, down six per cent from last year’s $111.9 million. But single-family residential permits were up 10 per cent, to $67.4 million from $61.2 million.

Non-residential permits declined 56 per cent from the same month last year, to $57.7 million from $132.5 million.

Building permits issued in the first 10 months of 2001 have been worth $1.6 billion, a decrease of 11 per cent from $1.8 billion at the same time last year.

Building permits measure the intentions of the construction industry and are not actual starts.

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A downtown office building has changed hands for $31.4 million in a deal closing at the end of the month.

Summit Real Estate Investment Trust has agreed to sell Canada Place at 407 2nd St. S.W., a high-end building of 191,889 sq. ft.

Summit said the funds will go to buying other properties, mostly in the light industrial and flex-space segment of the market.

Summit REIT focuses on that segment and grocery-anchored retail. It owns 230 properties in Canada and the United States. Its units trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SMU.UN.