Skip to main content
Corporate – Osgoode Properties Blog Just another Rent Cafe Blogs Sites site Tue, 30 Nov 2021 10:35:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 Time for A Facelift! Osgoode Properties’ Construction Season Round-Up https://www.osgoodeproperties.com/blog/2021/11/08/time-for-a-facelift-osgoode-properties-construction-season-roundup/ Mon, 08 Nov 2021 15:26:00 +0000 https://www.osgoodeproperties.com/blog/?p=318 It’s been a busy several months over here at Osgoode Properties! Our Construction Manager, Todd Davies, and his trusted sidekick Maya The Construction Dog have been leading our team through a wide range of construction projects at several of our buildings across Ottawa, Gatineau, and Kingston. Let’s take a closer look! Balcony Restoration – Westview…

Read More

The post Time for A Facelift! Osgoode Properties’ Construction Season Round-Up appeared first on Osgoode Properties Blog.

]]>
It’s been a busy several months over here at Osgoode Properties! Our Construction Manager, Todd Davies, and his trusted sidekick Maya The Construction Dog have been leading our team through a wide range of construction projects at several of our buildings across Ottawa, Gatineau, and Kingston.

Let’s take a closer look!

Balcony Restoration – Westview Apartments – Kingston

Working with Bassi Construction and their sub-contractors from Mascon, we completed a full-scale balcony restoration at Westview Apartments in Kingston. This project consisted of the installation of new framing, balconies, railings, and waterproofing systems. We are so pleased with the results!

Watch the video here.

Stone Façade Installation – Kingsview Apartments – Ottawa

Kingsview Apartments in Ottawa was due for an exterior facelift. Collaborating with the team at Capital Royal Renovations, we installed a brand-new stone façade around the front of the building. To finish off the look, we planted beautiful flora to add some life and colour to the property.

Newly Paved Visitor’s Parking – Parkway Towers – Ottawa

Thanks to the team at D-Squared Construction, the visitor’s parking at Parkway Towers in Ottawa is looking fine! This construction project involved the installation of new CIP curbing, a fresh coat of asphalt, and new line painting to top it all off. Talk about curb appeal! We executed this exact project at 11 other buildings across Ottawa and couldn’t be happier with the finished product!

Watch the video here.

Architectural Wood Cladding Installation – Bayridge Apartments – Kingston

The newly installed architectural wood cladding is looking fine over at Bayridge Apartments in Kingston! Timber cladding offers an array of benefits. It’s easy to install, it protects the walls from the elements, it filters and minimizes noise, it’s extremely durable and it’s more environmentally friendly. Special thanks to the team at Maddison Construction for a job well done!

Emergency Generator Installation – 4 Properties – Ottawa/Gatineau

With the help of the crews at Carleton Electric and LRL Associates Ltd., Riverside Towers, Riverton Park, Lakeview Apartments, and Le 700 St. Joseph have all been equipped with new emergency generators. These generators will ensure the building maintains power in the event of an outage. Shout out to the teams for a job well done!

Backflow Preventer Installation – 11 Properties – Ottawa

In order to maintain compliance with the City of Ottawa’s Backflow Prevention Program, Osgoode Properties completed the installation of backflow preventers at all of its buildings across Ottawa. These systems protect drinking water quality by ensuring the appropriate installation and inspection of devices that prevent contaminated water from flowing back into the City’s water distribution system. Thank you to Tourangeau Mechanical Plumbing for their work on the surveys, engineering, and installation of these devices!

Pool Rehabilitation – Faircrest Apartments – Ottawa

Working with the teams at Maddison Construction and Poolworks we completed a pool restoration at Faircrest Apartments in Ottawa. This construction project included localized concrete repairs, new electrical grounding, new epoxy-based pool paint, as well as installation of landscape pavers and Astroturf in the pool area. This project was completed during the COVID-19 pandemic amenity shutdown, so next season our residents can enjoy a full summer of poolside fun!

Garage Restoration – The Oaks – Ottawa

Starting in 2020, we began a full-scale parking garage restoration at The Oaks Apartments in Ottawa. Working with the crews at Alti Construction Ltd. and Cleland Jardine Engineering, the scope of work for this project included localized concrete repairs, a new waterproofing system, new expansion joints with concrete caps, updated draining and plumbing system, new LED lighting and the installation of new pedestrian stairs. This project wrapped up in August 2021 and we are thrilled with the final product. Thanks again to all our residents for their patience throughout this project!

Watch the video here.

Suite Upgrade Program – 7 Properties – Ottawa

Over the past year, we’ve also rolled out a Suite Upgrade Program. As part of this program, we update vacant suites with new finishes prior to renting them again. These upgrades include everything from LVP flooring to granite counters, updated cabinetry, and more. To date, we have completed 8 full unit renovations with 2 ongoing and 2 more scheduled for this month.

We weren’t kidding when we said it’s been a busy construction season!

At Osgoode Properties, we are dedicated to going above and beyond for our residents and the community, and part of that commitment is offering impeccably maintained, continually updated and amenity-rich buildings in great neighbourhoods.

Thank you again to our partners for all their hard work and professionalism. We are incredibly fortunate to work with such amazing crews and we look forward to teaming up again. Maya is already planning for next year!

The post Time for A Facelift! Osgoode Properties’ Construction Season Round-Up appeared first on Osgoode Properties Blog.

]]>
318
Osgoode Values Our Employees’ Mental Health https://www.osgoodeproperties.com/blog/2021/05/03/osgoode-values-our-employees-mental-health/ Mon, 03 May 2021 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.osgoodeproperties.com/blog/?p=123 The mental health repercussions of this pandemic are yet to be fully understood, though there have been early indications that they will be long lasting. As the providers of rental apartments, we are an essential service and most of our staff have come to work in-person since March 2020. We could see early on that…

Read More

The post Osgoode Values Our Employees’ Mental Health appeared first on Osgoode Properties Blog.

]]>
The mental health repercussions of this pandemic are yet to be fully understood, though there have been early indications that they will be long lasting. As the providers of rental apartments, we are an essential service and most of our staff have come to work in-person since March 2020. We could see early on that the stress and strain of increased cleaning protocols, wearing heavy PPE, providing additional supports to our residents, and applying new business protocols/procedures at a dizzying rate against the backdrop of living through a global pandemic risked the mental health of many of our staff members. In an attempt to mitigate the potential mental health strain Osgoode decided to support them early and often in taking care of their mental health. We implemented several strategies and made sure to communicate clearly about how to access them.

Here are 7 examples of how we supported our staffs’ mental health during this time:

  1. Expanded Benefits Coverage: In addition to adding an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to our benefits plan we also doubled the amount available for psychological services for individual employees and their families.
  1. Additional Days Off: Osgoode issued all site staff additional days off to take at their discretion in additional to expanding office closures during the holiday season.
  1. Hired Additional Support: To help support the increased cleaning protocols and staff shortages due to mandatory isolations Osgoode contracted with a cleaning company to help with the extra cleaning and hired additional full-time employees to ensure full support in the office.
  1. Paid Sick & Vaccine Leave: We always encourage our employees to take care of their health and to stay home when they are sick but that has never been a more important message than during this pandemic year. We offered full paid coverage, outside of their normal sick time, for any employee who had to isolate as a result of COVID-19 related guidelines. We let our employees know early during the vaccine roll out that they can take the time they need to get vaccinated without it counting against their time banks.
  1. Scheduling Support during School Closures: School closures are an unprecedented event and we wanted to make sure that all our employees knew that we would support them during a time of high stress and anxiety. We have worked with any staff faced with school closures to create a schedule that works for them and their family.
  1. Appreciation: Celebrating our employees is always important but never more so than during the past year. We used several different methods to thank our team including in-person when we see people, video messages, emails and sending holiday packages to each employee. Sometimes a thank you can go a long way in letting someone know that their contributions are valued and appreciated.

We recognize our team as being one of our most valuable assets. We want to ensure our people feel safe and supported while at work even during these unprecedented challenging times.

The post Osgoode Values Our Employees’ Mental Health appeared first on Osgoode Properties Blog.

]]>
123
Community Engagement – Osgoode Employee Giving Program https://www.osgoodeproperties.com/blog/2021/04/26/community-engagement-osgoode-employee-giving-program/ Mon, 26 Apr 2021 14:15:00 +0000 https://www.osgoodeproperties.com/blog/?p=132 Osgoode Properties is proud to have strong roots in our communities, and we are dedicated to helping our neighbours thrive. Our employees share this value of community and giving. Each year our employees participate in a voluntary payroll deduction giving program. This year we will be raising over $10,000 in donations for four organizations –…

Read More

The post Community Engagement – Osgoode Employee Giving Program appeared first on Osgoode Properties Blog.

]]>
Osgoode Properties is proud to have strong roots in our communities, and we are dedicated to helping our neighbours thrive. Our employees share this value of community and giving. Each year our employees participate in a voluntary payroll deduction giving program. This year we will be raising over $10,000 in donations for four organizations – one for each location where Osgoode Properties operates.

Our first quarter partner is the Ottawa Distress Centre. The Distress Centre has 210 volunteers answering calls 24/7 from those reaching out for mental health support. There were 60,862 calls answered in 2020 alone. The mission statement for the Distress Centre is “working within the continuum of mental health services, the Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region contributes to a healthier and safer community by providing suicide prevention, crisis intervention, psychological stabilization, emotional support, information, referral and education services, without judgement, to individuals in need.” These supports are critical to the people who rely on them and we are proud to support this important community resource.

Osgoode employees proudly donated $2,584 to the Ottawa Distress Centre!

If you would like to donate, you can go here to learn how you can help too!

If you would like to volunteer, you can go here to learn how you can provide that support!

If you feel like you need support, you can reach out to the Distress Centre directly:
 

Ottawa Distress Line

Phone – 613-238-3311

Text – 343-306-5550

Ottawa Crisis Line

Phone – 613-722-6914

 

The post Community Engagement – Osgoode Employee Giving Program appeared first on Osgoode Properties Blog.

]]>
132
Investing in Our People https://www.osgoodeproperties.com/blog/2021/04/19/investing-in-our-people-3/ Mon, 19 Apr 2021 12:00:00 +0000 https://www.osgoodeproperties.com/blog/?p=342 “The most meaningful way to succeed is to help others succeed” – Adam Grant Osgoode Properties is committed to investing in our people because we know that investing in our staff is our most effective way to continue to grow as an organization, as professionals and as providers of rental homes. While the list of…

Read More

The post Investing in Our People appeared first on Osgoode Properties Blog.

]]>
“The most meaningful way to succeed is to help others succeed” – Adam Grant

Osgoode Properties is committed to investing in our people because we know that investing in our staff is our most effective way to continue to grow as an organization, as professionals and as providers of rental homes. While the list of why we have committed to ongoing professional development and learning is long, our top 3 reasons for doing so are:

  • Educated staff is our most valuable resource – we hire great people and want to retain them.
  • Increases happiness and engagement in employees who then provide better customer service – and we are all about customer service.
  • Keeps employees knowledgeable about industry best-practices.

Osgoode has three legs to our learning stool that ensure our staff are growing in their knowledge, skill and personal effectiveness:

  • Self-Directed: Osgoode Properties has a generous continuous education policy and awards staff for pursuing their own learning
  • Internal: Osgoode Properties internal Training Department is staffed with two full time trainers who provide extensive onboarding and support our staff in their current roles as well as preparing them to take on new responsibilities and positions within the company.
  • External: We partner with external training groups to provide professional development, management and wellness training to our staff

One external trainer that we work with extensively is the Real Estate Institute of Canada (REIC) and this week we partner with them to send a third class of Osgoode employees from Ontario, Quebec and Alberta to study for and obtain their Accredited Residential Manager (ARM) designation. The ARM designation indicates a specialist in site management and is awarded to professionals who complete rigorous course work and demonstrate commitment and excellence in the field of property management.

Once complete they will join the 24 other ARM’s that have already completed this Osgoode sponsored program helping to ensure that we maintain the highest level of excellence in operating rental homes and providing the best experience possible for our residents.

The post Investing in Our People appeared first on Osgoode Properties Blog.

]]>
342