From a distance, it looks like a fairy-tale castle transported from the Loire to the Bow.

The turrets on the roof line give a somewhat mythical appearance to the Marquis, one of the latest condominium towers to rise at the west end of Eau Claire. But inside, it’s a modern multi-unit building in a burgeoning, trendy part of downtown.

Sales manager Sandy McLachlin says the Marquis should be ready for its first residents on Oct. 1. When finished, the building will have 217 suites and 308 parking stalls on two underground levels.

It’s a 17-storey gem, with terraced balconies stepping back from the 9th to top floors at the west end of the building.

It may look like a castle, but new Eau Claire condo tower development is thoroughly modern.

Privately held Bosa Development Corp., headquartered in Vancouver, has been building poured-in-place concrete multi-family buildings for 30 years. Both the walls and the floors are poured concrete.

McLachlin notes the interior finish of the show suites include maple cabinetry, granite counter tops and in-floor heat in the bathrooms.

There are a lot of floor-to-ceiling windows and, even on a grey afternoon, the rooms are suffused with airy light.

The site is located between 10th and 11th Streets and 5th and 6th Avenues S.W. The western view is a long look up the river valley to the mountains; the northern outlook gazes towards the Bow and leafy Kensington.

The Marquis is near the pathways, so the bicycle storage lockers in the basement are a nice touch.

“It’s a very site-specific building,” says McLachlin. Seventy per cent of the views are towards the river, she adds.

About 70 suites remain to be sold, on 10 different layouts ranging from one bedroom to two bedrooms and a den. Areas range from 700 sq. ft. to 1,650 sq. ft. Some suites go up to 2,900 sq. ft. when people buy two and have them redesigned into one.

Prices run from $145,000 to $485,000 and the age demographic of buyers so far is wide open. The common thread seems to be upper management in downtown companies — people who want to live and work in the centre, says McLachlin.

“When they pull the plug, they hit Bow Trail and head out of town, or they head for the airport,” she adds.

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A new Plus-15 walkway will be built across 6th Avenue S.W. and should be open to foot traffic in the fall.

Russ Golightly, project manager for the city’s corporate properties department, says there will be periodic lane closures during construction. On the June 30 weekend, the road will be closed between 7th and 8th Streets so the structural steel can be erected.

Only two Plus-15s cross 6th Avenue, both of them east of 3rd Street S.W. The Plus-15 network was devised in the late 1960s and has grown to 57 bridges and 16 kilometres of walkways.

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Always listen to your office moving consultant, says Dennis O’Neill. He should know, as vice-president and general manager of AMJ Campbell Van Lines. One recommendation made by the consultant was missed when AMJ moved its own office recently. Sure enough, there was a hiccup and a few items were misplaced.

“Always listen to the planner,” O’Neill repeats with a chuckle.

The mover’s new Calgary offices and warehouse officially open today at 907 57th Ave. N.E., just south of Deerfoot Mall.

“We are very, very proud of it, and we may be biased, but we think it’s the finest moving facility in the city and maybe Canada,” he says.

Office moves are one of three divisions and they are quite different from international moves or household moves.

Office moves for AMJ Campbell in Calgary run from one-person offices up to the largest office move in the city’s history, that of TransCanada PipeLines to its new building downtown.

O’Neill credits the employees. “I can sit in the corner office but the guys on the truck represent our company,” he says. “If they don’t do a good job, we won’t get another move.”