If you work from home part of the week, a new semi-detached home near La Prairie should also be judged by how much room it leaves for your computer.

Kitchen table in the morning, corner of the living room in the afternoon: when rooms are scarce, work ends up spreading everywhere. A home office near La Prairie, in a new house, lets you keep the two apart. This article looks at remote work in La Prairie according to the census, then at the workspaces found in BÉAcité's semi-detached homes in Sainte-Julie.

It sticks to what has been published: the floor plans, the photos of the homes and the developer's description. For anything else, the representative can fill you in.

La Prairie, a town where many people work from home

In the 2021 Census, Statistics Canada measured the share of workers who had worked at home:

29.1% in La Prairie, or 3,965 people out of 13,630;
23.6% in Sainte-Julie;
25.8% in the Montreal metropolitan area;
21.9% for Quebec as a whole.

Those figures date from May 2021, in the middle of the pandemic: they do not describe today's situation. They do show, however, that La Prairie was above the regional average; among the South Shore towns compared here, only Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville and Boucherville posted a higher share.

When the house is short on rooms

Remote work takes space. Yet La Prairie dwellings have 6.2 rooms on average, against 7.1 in Sainte-Julie. Only 31.0% of them have eight rooms or more, compared with 44.7% in Sainte-Julie, and 23.4% have four or more bedrooms.

Those averages go hand in hand with the share of apartments in town. If your current home has no spare room, you have three options: rearrange, add on or move.

If you happen to live in an apartment, the article on the move from condo to semi-detached home near La Prairie details what you gain in floor space, storage and outdoor room.

Three ways to set up a home office near La Prairie at BÉAcité

BÉAcité's homes and floor plans show several ways to fit in a workstation.

The open office at 423

At 423 Geoffrion Street, the three-bedroom Duo includes an open office designed for working from home. Its basement is finished, which frees up space elsewhere in the house. It suits you if you work alone and like the light of the main living area.

The closed office at 408

The photos of 408 Geoffrion Street show an office closed off by a glass door, with built-in shelving. A door is a real asset for video calls and for days when the whole family is home.

The Duo cottage mezzanine

As an option, the Duo cottage can be given a 338 sq ft mezzanine, bringing its living space from 2,018 to 2,356 sq ft. At 405 Geoffrion Street, the photos show exactly that: a mezzanine set up as an office under a high ceiling. At 435, you can also spot a desk area upstairs, next to the residential elevator, as well as a bright workroom with an olive-green wall.

Lastly, every model includes a basement, from 652 to 1,006 sq ft depending on the plan. Ask the representative what is possible for the home you have in mind.

Light and comfort: what helps you work

Light: large windows in every room, according to the list of inclusions.
Height: 9-foot ceilings on the main floor, and the option of a cathedral ceiling in the dining room.
Comfort: central air conditioning and central gas forced-air heating.
Charging: an outlet in the garage for an electric car, handy on the days you do hit the road.

These features are part of BÉAcité's inclusions; interior finishes are chosen from several options offered as standard.

Less commuting, a neighbourhood that matters more

When you work from home, you spend more time in your neighbourhood. In Vilamo, a full commercial strip is within walking distance, a promenade is reserved for pedestrians, bikes and electric mobility, and green space covers more than 15% of the area. Beacite.com also mentions three years of free membership at Espace Tonik Nature, described as "an extension of home into nature".

Distance weighs less when you do not cover it every day: from La Prairie city hall to Geoffrion Street, allow about 33 km and roughly half an hour without traffic. Keep in mind, though, that Sainte-Julie is farther from downtown Montreal than La Prairie: on the days you go into the office, the commute will be longer. That is the trade-off of a home office near La Prairie chosen on the Sainte-Julie side.

Prepare the visit with your list

Before you go, write down what your work requires:

a door that closes, or will an open corner do?
how many screens, printers and storage units?
will two of you be working at the same time?
when do you want to move in?

Once there, sit down in each room that could become your office: notice where the light comes from at the hours you work, where the cables will run and whether the spot stays quiet when the rest of the house gets busy. Take a few measurements and photos; they will help you compare the models on paper afterwards.

On that last point, BÉAcité offers finished homes as well as homes still to be customized; the article on choosing a turnkey or pre-construction home near La Prairie will help you decide.

The sales office, at 435 Geoffrion Street, receives visitors on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; in the evening or on weekends, you come by appointment. Sales director Eddy Guessous can be reached at 514-812-9633, by call or text.

Conclusion

In May 2021, nearly three La Prairie workers in ten were working from home, in a town where dwellings are smaller than in Sainte-Julie. At BÉAcité, a home office near La Prairie can take the form of an open office, a closed room or a mezzanine. The surest way to judge is to see them in person: start at the sales office at 435 Geoffrion Street, with your list of needs in hand.

A home office near La Prairie: a real room to work in