Special Feature
OTTAWA–Terrasses Gabrielle provides luxurious living with the conveniences of downtown in a beautiful, quiet location across from Riverain Park and Strathcona Park, overlooking the Rideau River.
“I love it, we all love it here. You won’t hear a bad word from anybody who lives here,” said military resident Wanda Stack, who is in the second of a three-year Ottawa stint from Newfoundland.
There’s a waiting list to get into Les Terrasses Gabrielle, one of the most sought-after luxury apartment rentals in Ottawa.
According to property manager Sonia Bazinet, turnover is low. It might be quicker to get a one bedroom since they have many military personnel coming in on one- to three-year terms. But according to Stack, “Terrasses Gabrielle is the best,” and word has spread so you will have to act fast.
Stack’s first Ottawa apartment was in a noisy, poorly maintained building. After six weeks, she decided she’d had enough. “It was terrible. I found out about Terrasses and so I came and I was like, sign me up! They look after everything here. They look after us. It’s great!”
It’s a hard life for people like Stack, living away from their families for years. Rough quarters only make it harder. She said it’s especially difficult for her, because her family is so far away and she can only go visit every three months or so.
“Living here actually makes it much easier. I am not the only one who says that either, a lot of my military friends say the same,” Stack said. “The apartments are beautiful here, they are just gorgeous.”
Built in 2007, Terrasses Gabrielle offers spacious units with glazed ceilings and post-modern panoramic windows, and most suites have an exceptional view of Rideau River and Riverain Park.
An open-concept kitchen features granite countertops, natural wood cabinetry, and six stainless steel appliances. The building features a large rooftop terrace, salt-water pool, and a well-equipped and spacious exercise room.
But it’s not just the quality of the dishwasher and rooftop barbeques that keep Stack happy. She said the people, including Bazinet and superintendent Scott Thaver, go out of their way for their tenants.
“They are really, really good to us, very kind people,” she said. “They look after the little things. If you are in a bind Scott is there for you, day or night. There is no stress when you are living here, it’s absolutely beautiful.”
Bazinet has been with Terrasses Gabrielle since the building was bought by Globe General Agencies in 2010. It’s a happy job, she said.
“Everybody smiles here. Everybody goes by and waves,” said Bazinet.
The building’s “vibe” comes in part because of the family-run business it is a part of, she said.
“Globe is awesome to work for.”
Based in Winnipeg, Globe has rentals in Montreal, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. Terrasses Gabrielle is its only rental in Ontario—“their gem”, as Bazinet fondly refers to it. Most of the Globe staff has been with the company at least 10 years, and many 25 years or more.
That changes the way the company operates, from small things, like the property manager accepting parcels for tenants who are at work, to giving a break to a desperate family that couldn’t find a home.
Bazinet recalled a woman from Winnipeg who called crying because the family of seven—five children—couldn’t get a six-month lease for her husband’s short term in Ottawa.
Bazinet had a two-bedroom suite available and the good will of her bosses to break with protocol.
“The kids were amazing, it was if all the building tenants adopted them,” she said.
For more information about Les Terrasses Gabrielle, call 613-741-4411 or check out the website at www.terrassesgabrielle.com
