VALENTINE'S DAY
Love at first site
February 12, 2010
Donna Laporte
REAL ESTATE REPORTER
When Stephanie Filippelli and Robert Mariani started looking at condos, it was love at first sight.
They bought the first one they saw.
It was November 2006. Although they had started looking at an Aspen Ridge Homes lowrise project west of Toronto, Filippelli really wanted to live downtown.
Knowing the developer had launched the vü, a condo project at Jarvis and Adelaide Sts., they decided to investigate.
They had been dating for several years, having met in 1999 at Longo's, where they both worked part-time, she as a cashier and he as a clerk.
"We fell in love with the layout; the prices were very reasonable," says the 26-year-old, who's now an interior designer.
They did their homework and, after looking at about eight suite designs, settled on a 730-square-foot one-bedroom-plus den on the third floor.
As the occupancy date neared, Filippelli was eager to get in and take measurements. Her cousin, Robert Onorati, is contracts manager with Aspen Ridge Homes and one day he texted her to say he had pulled some strings to let them have a sneak peek.
The date was set for Aug. 6, 2009 at 6 p.m.
Little did she know that her sweetheart, Robert Mariani, 28, had been working behind the scenes for about three weeks with Aspen Ridge staff to arrange a special surprise.
When the day came, she arrived early from her job in Mississauga, so she arranged to see a girlfriend nearby until Mariani drove from Markham, where he works as an engineer.
"I just really wanted to get into the space," she says. "I didn't suspect a thing."
Secretly, Mariani had arrived with a friend much earlier and, after donning hard hats, they were escorted upstairs to set up.
At 6 p.m., Mariani appeared to meet her near the site.
The security guard on duty, however, explained that he couldn't leave his station and directed them to the staircase.
Mariani led the way, with a few false starts, she says.
"As far as I was concerned, it was the first time in the building for both of us," she says.
Mariani explains the ruse.
"I purposely let us in to the suite next door," he says. But she realized the layout was wrong.
Once inside their apartment, when she turned around, he hid in a corner of the bedroom.
There, on a table, were a bouquet of red roses, a bottle of sparkling wine, two glasses and a balloon that said: "Welcome Home."
"I was really taken aback," Filippelli says.
"I actually thought my cousin had set the whole home up for us as a 'congratulations' for buying the condo. I kind of gave him all the credit instead of Rob."
But Mariani swept her up in his arms and delivered a speech that neither really remembers. Then he went down on one knee and proposed, with a ring he'd had made about five weeks before.
After enjoying a toast, she says, they did what any newly engaged couple would do in their new love nest – pulled out a measuring tape and started verifying dimensions.
She swears it's true.
Mariani moved in the beginning of November.
"I like it a lot," he says. "It's my first time on my own."
"It's a great place, a great location," he adds. "I was the second person to sleep over there."
As for Filippelli, "I come from a pretty traditional Italian family, so I won't be (moving) in until after my wedding," which is June 26.
As for her family in Woodbridge, they are "happy and excited," she says.
They knew for over a month that he was to propose, as he asked her parents' permission. Her grandfather had just died, "so they had to wait and keep the secret."
She has only one sister, so Mariani is "like the first son in the family," she says.
Their floor is full of other young couples, so they are looking forward to making new friends.
The couple paid about $260,000, including parking and locker.
See www.vuliving.ca for remaining units or call 416-970-9500.
Toronto Star