Rideau East Apartments

I was looking for a rental place at 170 lees, and Carolyn was there to introduce me to the place and we had a great conversation, she is patient and gives me a lot of helpful advice because I'm a student, the rent place is new for me. Rideau East is a good place, the building is new, the view is beautiful, the location is really convenient.

My 5* is for the management,when you have a problem they can quickly fix it for you,especially Sakshi she has a heart of gold very friendly and makes you feel comfortable to go ask for help❤️❤️❤️❤️

I have stayed in the 170lees apartment, and I have had a very good experience, especially saski's care for me. If you have any needs, you can go to her

I really like it here the staff and superintendent are very nice. It's a clean building. My apartment has been renovated. There is a convenient store a chicken place and a Chinese food place. Bran new washers and dryers. Near transit and the highway. The people that live here have been very friendly. I love to go for walks along the water. If your looking for a place check it out. Oh and the size of my one bedroom is pretty big compared to some others I had seen well looking for a place, glad I settled on this one.

I have lived at 170 Lees Avenue in Ottawa, in a 1-bedroom unit, for 16 years. I was here before the building was renovated, during all the upgrades, and am still living here now, so I can give an honest review.

Initially, when I first moved here, the building was in pretty bad shape. There was a horrendous cockroach problem, the apartments were small and run down, and it was pretty dirty. I was a student at the time though, and the rent was cheap, so I stayed.

The following year after I moved in, they began massive renovations. They removed all the crumbling balconies and extended the interior of the units for maximum living space. They tore out all the old carpeting and flooring and put in much nicer, new ceramic tiling, put in new, tinted, casement-style windows, and upgraded many of the kitchens and bathrooms.

Then, a few years later, new management took over and continued to improve on the interior of the building, installing new flooring, lighting and aesthetic upgrades in the lobby and hallways (still ongoing on some floors). Brand new elevators were also installed in 2018/19 to replace the original, always-breaking-down system from the 60s, and an upgrade to the building’s power supply was recently completed this year, ensuring the elevators, garage doors, and hall lighting stays on during power outages.

With all of the upgrades and improvements over the years, the problem with roaches went from bad, to mild, to virtually non-existent. Personally, I haven’t had any issues with roaches whatsoever for years. I’ve also never seen or heard of anyone I know in the building having bed bugs either. If anyone did have bed bugs while living here, I would argue that they acquired them elsewhere and brought them into their units themselves - the same way people brought them into all the government buildings in 2019 when it was all over the news. Anyone can get bed bugs no matter where they live. It’s unfortunate that the people who had the misfortune of dealing with them blamed the building. I mean, if there were an infestation, EVERYONE would have them by now.

It’s sad to see so many negative reviews of this building when it actually has a lot of great qualities. The people that live here are all pretty friendly, and there are a lot of dogs and dog-friendly people. I, myself, have a dog and two cats, so I like that it’s a pet-friendly place.

There is a huge open green space right in front of the building where people bring their dogs for exercise, and where organised sports and community events are held. There’s a community garden, and the PATH system is right next to the building, along the Rideau River. It’s close to Ottawa University, St. Paul University, OC Transpo bus stations and the Lees Avenue LRT station. Plus the on-ramp to the 417 is literally right across the street.

There’s a children’s park with play equipment just across the field in front of the building (Springhurst Park), as well as a basketball court, and other park amenities. In the rear of the building there are picnic tables and charcoal BBQs for the use of the tenants during the summer months, and an outdoor area for bikes.

Attached to the building is a convenience store (accessible through the basement). There’s also a chicken place, and a Chinese restaurant (Giant Panda), all located at the street-side face of the building. Across the street is a barber/hair dresser, and next door are additional convenience stores, a Greek & Pizza place, and a Shawarma restaurant. It’s really handy for student life, or for when you don’t feel like cooking or going to the store.

There’s also on-site laundry that’s open 24-hours, with brand new washers & dryers (2021).
The building management are all friendly, helpful, and very accommodating, and maintenance work is fast and efficient. I’m not sure why some people have left such bad reviews, but my experience over the past 15 years has been positive, and I’m quite happy here. I love the location, my unit, and the fact that the rent is all-inclusive. No place is perfect, but this place is pretty good.