Building reno to rejuvenate the area
The smell of fresh paint fills the hallways of a St. Catharines apartment building that had been an eyesore for years.
As many as 10 contractors at a time have been hard at work transforming a dilapidated three-storey apartment building at 98 Page St. into a place that tenants will be happy to call home, said Manny Bedi, whose family-owned business Bedi Investments Limited purchased the property almost a year ago.
“We’re just kind of working our way through, bringing it back up to its former glory. It’s absolutely needed. We’re doing everything within our power,” he said, adding the company has invested “a few hundred thousand dollars” on renovating the building since April.
The renovations have included new flooring, windows, fencing, ventilation, plumbing, security, and a new electrical system – replacing decades-old fuse panels with circuit breakers.
“It’s everything,” Bedi said. “You name it, it’s being done.”
Pointing out new tiled walls enclosing the shower and bathtub in one apartment, Bedi said “the washroom is actually my personal favourite, and to be honest with you our best selling point.”
He said 17 of the building’s 26 units are currently being renovated, while the remaining nine units are occupied. Another tenant is scheduled to move into one of the completed rooms next week, and three more are expected to arrive in February.
“We look at it as though we’re bringing people to a nice place that they want to call home, where they feel comfortable and safe,” Bedi said.
And by transforming the building, he said it also improves the neighbourhood that surrounds it.
“We like to think of it as a rejuvenation of the area,” Bedi said.
He said the company recently purchased and renovated a similar property in London, and the neighbours “actually thanked us for purchasing the property because they see the transition of the neighbourhood.”
“They see it getting so much cleaner, so much better, so much more home,” Bedi said. “They don’t want to live around that. Now they’re able to hang out on their lawns and their porches without worrying about seeing that kind of stuff.”
It’s a huge change compared to the condition of the building before Bedi, along with his father Tarlochan and brother Suki, purchased it and almost immediately got to work fixing it up.
Bedi suspects the building constructed in 1968 had never before been renovated.
“In my opinion, there were a lot of bandage repairs being done for a long period of time,” he said.
As a result, the building continued to deteriorate.
The decline was likely at its worst in late 2011 when frustrated tenants contacted local media after filthy water and debris began raining down on them through crumbling ceilings.
The city at the time issued a work order under the Building Code Act after a building inspector found unsafe conditions in two units, saying: “Water is leaking through the ceilings of units 307 and 308, and the living room ceilings are in danger of collapsing.”
Bedi said he took some pictures of the building shortly after buying it, originally planning to use the images for a “before and after” comparison.
“But all of the before pictures I have are horrific,” he said, adding the pictures are so terrible he’d rather not share them publicly.
Despite the deplorable condition of the building, Bedi said it had enough positive traits to make it a worthwhile investment - such as large and well-ventilated units, as well as a solid structure.
And although other companies “are in it for the flip,” Bedi said “we’re not that company.”
Bedi plans to hold onto the building for years to come.
“We’re in it for the long haul. We’re going to own and manage it.”
For that reason, he said they didn’t scrimp on materials.
The hallways are lined with porcelain tiles, while Portugal ceramic and Canadian laminate flooring have been added to the apartments.
By investing in quality materials rather than trying to cut costs on the renovations, he said it means they won’t be having to redo the work in years to come.
Ultimately, it means the tenants are happier, too.
“The less they have to see me because of any issues that might be going on, the better,” he said.
Despite the investment, Bedi said they are doing their best to keep rent as low as possible.
“We understand that it’s difficult. We try to work with tenants,” he said.
While 98 Page St. is the first building Bedi Investments has purchased in Niagara, he said the company owns several other buildings in London and the Kitchener Waterloo area. ABenner@postmedia.com twitter.com/abenner1