March 26, 2020
ESSENTIAL WORKERS SUPPORTING ESSENTIAL WORKERS: BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR AVENUE LIVING MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS TEAMS
As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to disrupt the normal state of affairs throughout the world, Avenue Living Communities wants its residents to know it is 'business as usual' when it comes to maintenance and repairs of the company's 430 buildings across Western Canada.
Avenue Living is home to over 20,000 people across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba and Aman Bhalla, Senior Vice-President, Investment Management for Avenue Living, said the company is proud to house thousands of essential workers throughout the Prairie Provinces and is diligently working with its residents during this crisis, to tend to any issues they may have with regards to their suites.
"As always, we work to ensure that our residents are safe and comfortable. If there is a service request raised, we're still going to work, business as usual, taking all the extra precautions we can to ensure the safety of our residents and team. We have a skilled team of maintenance staff in all of our regions, and have seen the impact of their efforts and hard work. Our maintenance requests are at an all-time low, which is incredible," said Bhalla.
"Now, more than ever, our residents are in their homes and we are actively working to provide them with the standards of comfort that they expect from Avenue Living by continuing to complete maintenance requests on a timely basis. We have seen limited instances of residents wishing to defer non-essential maintenance requests. It tells me that our residents are really part of our communities and are putting both their health, and that of our team members, as a priority. Because, truly, as we state in our core values, we're in it together. And our residents are in it together with us," added Bhalla.
"Another aspect of our core values is duty of care. There is that duty of care that residents are showing toward us and the company, and we are showing toward them as well. And we ensure every resident that has a maintenance request during this time, that we are always taking the necessary safety precautions when visiting their suite," said Bhalla.
Avenue Living has about 10,000 residential rental suites in a portfolio across 19 markets in the Prairie provinces. For work currently taking place in all Avenue Living buildings, maintenance teams have been advised to follow the protocols of social distancing and using gloves when they enter a unit. "We're going the extra mile to make sure our residents are safe and still feeling comfortable and at home with the unit that they have rented with us," added Bhalla.