The Ace development is a six-storey building that features 61 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, with remaining homes ranging in floor space from 512 to 1020 square feet. Photo by Wesgroup Properties

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Even the dogs have noticed a difference.

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“It took them no time at all to enjoy the grass and the smells and tree cover like at Clark Park and Trout Lake,” says Jesse Ray-Contreras.

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In early March, Ray-Contreras and their husband Gabriel Ray-Contreras, along with their two Boston terriers Olly and Ella, took possession of their new home at 12th and Commercial. They moved from a 620-square-foot one-bedroom rental in Yaletown to a 1,100-square-foot three-bedroom in Ace, a Wesgroup Properties development.

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“We wanted to live somewhere with a different pace than downtown — more trees, more grass for the dogs, a variety of architecture, smaller businesses, that type of thing.”

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The six-storey building holds 61 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, with remaining homes ranging in floor space from 512 to 1020 square feet. North-facing homes have views of downtown, the North Shore mountains, and the shops and restaurants lining Commercial. South-facing homes look out over a second-floor courtyard with two barbecues and a sink, and a kids’ play area. The courtyard connects to a shared-use room with multiple lounge and game areas, a kitchen and a bathroom, for 2,900 square feet of amenity space.

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A work hub sits off the lobby on the main floor, which is home to several retail spaces including a café, Merci Boulangerie. A hair salon, wellness and meditation studio and electronics repair shop will also be moving in.

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Nearby restaurants include The Burrow, the vegetarian Mexican restaurant formerly known as Banditas, and perennial Szechuanese favourite ChongQing. The Rio Theatre and City Avenue Market, formerly Donald’s, are a few blocks north.

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The Ray-Contreras began looking for a presale home in 2023. Ace’s 2026 completion date “gave us time to get our affairs in order,” Ray-Contreras says. Both are psychotherapists with their own practice, In Good Company Counselling. They wanted to be close to the SkyTrain for easy transit to their practice’s downtown location.

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“You’re so close to the SkyTrain station. Getting just about anywhere is faster than by car.”

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They came across Ace shortly after beginning their search and knew of the developer through a friend who lives in the River District, which was master-planned by Wesgroup.

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A work hub sits off the lobby on the main floor, which is home to several retail spaces including a café, Merci Boulangerie. A hair salon, wellness and meditation studio and electronics repair shop will also be moving in. Photo by Wesgroup Properties

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The two colour schemes on offer are called crema and coffee. Photo by Wesgroup Properties

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“We started conversing with a colleague-slash-friend who’s also an agent on a Saturday. By Wednesday we had signed the paperwork and given our first part of the deposit.”

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According to Wesgroup senior sales manager Richard Alvarez, as of this writing, 60 per cent of the homes had been sold. Buyers have mostly been in their 30s and 40s, many first-time homeowners.

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For the Ray-Contreras, ACE checked a lot of boxes: price, location, size, and esthetic.

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“We wanted something modern but still cosy, nothing too sterile. It very much feels like Ace was developed by and for millennials — said with compliments.”