Stop 7: 12 West Poplar Avenue – Apt 311
Owner: Nils Root

If you’re experiencing Deja vu, it might be because you caught this 440 sq. ft. condo on an episode of HGTV’s “Tiny House Hunters” while asking yourself why no one on the show can look past paint color. (It’s season 2, episode 7 if you want to get your eyes on it.) This unit is housed in the historic Yukon building, which originally served as a railway hotel for Union Station. Renovated in 2006-2007, it is now used as a mixed building with a first floor of commercial space and 28 condos filling the second and third floors.

The units vary in size but are one-bedroom/studio condos between 440 and 600 sq. ft. They also lack any on or off-street parking, which can be considered “urban living” or “inconvenient,” depending on your point of view.

Nils purchased the condo in March 2016, and, after moving in, experimented with posting his place on Airbnb. When his guests arrive, he gets out of Dodge and visits friends in other cities. On evenings, especially during the weekend, the bustle of High Street can be heard loudly and clearly. Those sounds tend to either annoy visitors or rock them right to sleep, and ear plugs are available on the counter. So, remember, the next time you’re having a lively exchange about the election, you could unknowingly be performing a two-person play for Nils or his guests.

Directly below the condo is the Italian restaurant, Marcella’s, where Nils bussed tables while starting his video production business, Bookbag Video. He still goes there any Friday night he’s in town and enjoys the experience of walking downstairs, sitting at the bar and seeing/making friends at the bar.

Nils says the condo is the perfect place for him. He couldn’t ask for a better location, loves having a small place and says the sounds of the city make him feel like he’s “in the thick of it.”