Family-operated landlords bought out

By Collin Gallant on August 28, 2018.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com @CollinGallant

A long-standing and well-loved apartment landlord in Medicine Hat has wound up operations and sold its portfolio to Avenue Living.

Scherer Rentals was built up by well-known realtor Fred Scherer over three decades, then operated by his family following his death in 2011.

After seven years however, and what relatives said was passing local interest on five apartment buildings comprising 92 units, and looking to retire themselves, they said the time was right to sell.

That’s despite an apparent upswing in demand for the rental market ahead of new industrial growth in the city.

“People have asked whether we’re selling too soon,” Vickie Scherer-Pettrisch, who along with brother and sister-in-law Randy and Arlene Scherer, operated the entity.

“We were always full, so it wouldn’t matter if 10 or 10,000 people moved to Medicine Hat.”

The company also owned a commercial building that housed Hat Realty offices at the corner of Third Street and Sixth Avenue downtown, which sold several years ago.

Fred Scherer, a vocal booster of the city centre and the city in general, was the driving force behind the business, said Scherer-Pettrisch.

“His spirited presence was gone, and Scherer Rentals, bottom line, was him,” she said. “It was his dream.”

The transaction with Avenue Living is the latest in a series of moves that boosted the Western Canadian residential rental company’s holding in the city.

The addition could mean the company controls about one-fifth of the traditional apartment suites in the city.

In 2014, they came under heavy criticism for blanket rental increases, but Scherer-Pettrisch said she felt it was undeserved and felt her former tenants would be well-served by the new landlord.

The successful offer, made in May, was the third from Avenue Living that the family entertained over the years, among eight in total on which the family passed.

“For a number of reasons we didn’t pursue them,” she said. “They approached us, the offer met our expectations.”

She described the buildings as nearly full most of the time, thanks to a company culture to attract long-term tenants with well-kept buildings.

Fred, himself, lived in the penthouse unit of the Scherer Paradise unit on First Street in Riverside that has been mostly vacant since his death apart from company and family get-togethers.

Avenue Living did not respond to a request for an interview.

It has expanded its holdings quickly after arriving in Medicine Hat in 2014 with the purchase of 18 apartment buildings.

According to its corporate website, Avenue Living’s apartment buildings in the city currently total 27, comprising 710 suites, though it’s not clear if the Scherer Rentals facilities are included.

In terms of buildings, the local number is lower than only Edmonton (43 buildings), Saskatoon (40), and Lloydminster (28). In terms of suites, Medicine Hat is the third-largest centre for Avenue.

The company also operates 25 buildings in Lethbridge, and 13 in Brooks.

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