Rio Vista Apartments

Looking to settle in town after selling our property on a lake, my husband and I have found this building to be exactly what we were looking for: proximity to the parks, to the river, easy access to public transport and walking distance to restaurants, cinema, safe surrounding and friendly tenants and staff. The sunsets and views on the Gatineau Hills are breathtaking.

It is an old building and like so many of us, it suffers the pain of its age. Much effort has been made to maintain the building clean and ensure that the equipment works properly. However, we must recognize that in recent years [and particularly during the lockdown] the challenges faced by employers and particularly those in the construction and property management sectors to recruit competent and reliable staff and contractors are not different from those that we experience here.

We have great respect for the dedication and patience shown by the staff to attend to our requests and ensure that there is minimal disturbance when work is done.

We do not regret for a moment our decision.

Kees & Jacqueline

I am a tenant at Rio Vista Apartments for the last 3+ years and I love it, my apartment, my view , the location, all of it.
And Yes, the building is some 40 years old and as such requires the occasional shutdown of water , the elevator , etc. to. carry out necessary work, but this is to be expected. Repair work is always announced in advance and conducted for the most part in a timely fashion. The office and staff deserve credit and appreciation, not criticism. Having had experience in the construction industry myself it can be challenging at times to deal with contractors that you have to rely on.
When I read some of the negative reviews, I am taken back, because my experience has just been the opposite. All my contacts with the office and staff have always been friendly, accommodating an helpful.
So, I want to thank them for their efforts and am positive that most other tenants would want to express the same. This is a beautiful address and I am privileged to call it my home.
Sincerely
Heinz Burgsthaler

great building to live in very clean and well kept building , apartments are very nice and spacious the staff is very friendly , and accommodating , pool is great they had some renovations done , overall its a great building to live in

This building that I called home for almost 20 years is beautiful, but that is where it ends. Presently there is one part-time cleaner, and one super that only started less than 2 weeks ago. There is a huge turnover in staff. 3 employees of this building up and quit in the past few weeks. The absent office person is beyond her best before date. The owners live in Montreal but have a Property Administrator/Paralegal that lives in Belleville who the older tenants are afraid to complain about issues for fear of the wrath of the property Administrator. I used to love coming home here after a long days work but now with the broken elevators much of the time, no office personnel, no pool, no doormen, and an intercom system that has been disabled to stop the flow of people entering the building. Packages delivered by couriers go missing. I have had at least 3 friends move out of the building in the past few months. Prospective tenants get the tour of the building and units and they love the old building. It is a beautiful old place but in the past 6 plus years the building has gone from a place that cared about its tenants to a place that takes your rent but that is the only time they want to hear from you. There was once a tenants association in the building but as hard as they tried to band together and have one designated person communicate with the property administrator, he would not deal with the tenants association. Insisted on only dealing with people one on one. I have just learned of another of my friends giving their notice. If people complain they get a letter stating that they will be kicked out if they continue. There is one positive review here. Much of the language used is so similar to that of the property administrator. So many people on this forum cannot be wrong.

Zero stars
This building is a nightmare. No heat, no a/c, constant plumbing problems, leaks and water shut offs. The bldg manager continuously hires incompetent contractors. Numerous superintendents have been hired, fired and quit over the last 8 years. The concierges have been let go, despite this being a supposed selling point and security enhancement. Forget the advertised amenities because they do not exist. The pool/hot tub/sauna have been unusable for most of the years I’ve lived here. There seems to be no screening process for new tenants, considering the morons who pull the fire alarm in the middle of the night and the drug dealers who have settled in and bring a constant stream of criminals and vagrants into the bldg and underground parking garage. If you’d like to pay an exorbitant amount of rent, get very little in return, and feel unsafe, this place is perfect.

We used to live at Rio Vista Apts in the 70's through to 1985 and loved it. We had no problems with heating, cooling or the rubbish and the laundry definitely was not a mess. There were very nice tenants living there then, and it was a place hard to get into. We loved our doorman Gordon, he was a lovely person and knew everyone by name and if they belonged there.
We were sorry to read of the current problems, it looks like it has gone downhill after all these years, what a pity, maybe poor management.

Irene Coates

Honestly alot of the reviews I have seen online I have managed to disprove within a few short months. I moved in back in april and yes while the building does need some TLC they are now making up for years of neglect and lazy staff. The staff has had a complete turnover and we now have a great contracting firm working with the building. The notice for the water shutoff I can confirm was put up 4 days prior and was posted at both garage doors, outside the elevators on each floor, in the elevators and in the mail room. Aside from stapling it to peoples foreheads I don't see what else management can do.

My only complaint about the place is the people that live here, they seem to be very self absorbed and entitled jerks that treat the staff like garbage. I have dealt directly with the property manager and have had nothing but a great experience. If you use the proper channels to escalate your concerns and issues instead of running to the ontario tenants board at every turn, you will find everyone to be very accommodating.

Overall the unit we have is absolutely massive and while the rent may seem high it is completely worth it if you don't mind a little construction going on around you. Repairs take time and money and there;s only so much cash in the bank, unless tenants want to start kicking in some donations, I find a lot of the whining is due to being entitled. Also I feel having a doorman is a thing of the past, I think they need to exchange that with an evening security contract, we are quite capable of getting our parcels from the parcel locker in the lobby.

Overall these reviews are an objective opinion, don;t believe everything people say without forming your own opinion and above all give people a chance. You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.

I'm reading the other reviews below mine and nodding along because, sadly, it's all true, from what I've seen. I had high hopes for this place--my apartment is nice and the pool was a draw, and some of the staff are friendly, but it's clear the building is owned by someone who's trying to do his best impersonation of a slumlord letting it go downhill fast. The owner gives the impression he can't handle the financial responsibility of a massive building anymore, and I fall asleep most nights dreaming he'll sell it to people who can--people with integrity and competence and an ounce of concern for those who live here. Hey, and for the cool old building itself.

Cleaning and repair issues are the tip of the iceberg. The owner's manager deploys con-artist and bullying tactics, as others have noted below--his reputation is wide, since so many of us have dealt with him, with poor results. This is allegedly known by the owner (several tenants claim to have written him), and yet the manager remains in place--that speaks volumes.

Today there was a scheduled all-day water interruption and the notice was inadequate--a poster by the elevator put up the day before, when many people take the stairs (so they don't see the elevator notice), and others might stay home for a day (elderly, sick, etc) and also therefore miss it. I can't imagine how that squares as "notice." The administrator won't use a basic email block for notifications in 2017. (And those few tenants who don't have email? slip something under their door. Work it.). This is not the first time notification has been ineffective and unfair since I've been here.

The building is bleeding tenants, who are being replaced with noisier and less considerate neighbours. It's getting rougher and rowdier here. I'm seeing more and more apparent drug deals go down on the premises--shady crap, and cops gathered in the parking lot, etc (twice last week alone). What was once an optimal mixed tenancy (all income levels, all kinds of people and experiences and stories) appears to be changing, and homogeny ain't good. The friendliness among people is vanishing.

The tenants' association, alas, is also ineffective and argumentative. Tenants are understandably turned off and don't want to engage with them/join the board/attend gatherings once they've seen it in operation. This has contributed to the problem and weakened everyone's position further, no doubt.

I urge the owner to sell, or to do the right thing and at least hire a more able manager and administrator. Like many, I won't be here long--joining the great exit. Or the class action, if it happens while I'm here. All money won should go to better maintenance routines and more engaged staff--we don't need it ourselves, we just need a decent place to live, and to halt the rotting of a building.

-The management at Rio Vista ( RV) , when present , cannot seem to hire anyone who remains. There is very high turn over in staff. The building is dingy and looks unkempt. The hall carpets are disgusting.

-The front office is often empty . When seeking answers we are told to put them on a scrap of paper that will be circulated. Or, we are to call the office in Belleville and 'leave a message'.

-City Officials were contacted recently as the garbage room was so revolting that it was beginning to pose a health threat.

- RV use to have doormen on a regular basis but the hours have been reduced making the building less safe. There is no door staff on weekend evenings when many parties take place with young people who get drunk, smoke dope and carry on in the parking lot at all hours.

-Security in this building is non existent. Staff quit or are fired and keep the keys as management does not think to ask that they be turned in ! The same thing goes for tenants who move out and keep the electronic fobs that provide access to the front door and 2 garage doors.

-The Olympic sized pool is often closed for repairs or too cold to enter. The woman's sauna is broken.

-The laundry room is dirty and often unheated. The machines are expensive. The rinsing sink had a broken faucet for almost a month before it was repaired after someone complained repeatedly .

-The Rio Vista ( RV) building houses hundreds of tenants none of whom are given a notification as to when there will be changes occurring within the structure affecting our lives. Tenants are often the last to know what is going on in the building.

For example: Construction work on our balconies began last summer and were told it would be short interruption. Many were told to get their furniture off the balconies so that contractors could repair as needed. Storage was not provided to house our items so we have to take on that extra expense. The daily drilling and banging has been part of living at RV from June to October. That construction work remains incomplete . The staff often took days off which did not help the matter.
Even though we do not get to enjoy all the square footage, we still have to pay for all of it.

The management is incompetent on the best days and dishonest on the worst.

Do not move here unless you want to hate coming home to a dump every day.

The units are massive. Near Olympic size indoor pool. Hot tub. 2 Saunas. Party rooms. Tuck shop. Hair stylist. Massive laundry room. Concierge and indoor heated parking with units over the water.

For older folks there are people that will purchase and deliver items from the grocery store or IKEA. Drive you to your appointments.

This building is amazing. One of the best parts is that the building does not rent to loud students or to people they deem "Will not get along with the others" The staff are very friendly and the building is very secure.

All utilities are included and the building has central air conditioning and Heat that are pumped into each unit that you control.

This is not an apartment to rent for a few years and leave. It is a place to rent until you pass away from this life. If you are a mature couple looking for a long term home this is a place you should inquire on.

Phenomenal Luxury living. The on site property management team makes life easy. Perks of having central air and dish washers is a plus.