The Gala - Calgary

I moved in 2015, the first tenants in Gala A. Then it was Laila, Penny and Rose that was managing under Emerald. I introduced 2 of my colleagues who are living in this same building. I was given 2 days notice for pest spray which I did the first, second and the third time few things like toaster and plates where left on the top shelf and because of that I was given 2wks notice to move out of the building claiming that I am the cause that pest in spreading into other suite and also not being cooperative which are lies. Previous management give up to 2wks notice so you can arrange your things and for a 3bedroom with someone working. if you violate you pay fine but instead it is quit notice moreover in the agreement its fine you pay. I guess the management is handled by a heartless and undignified manager. 2wks for a family to move after collecting a full rent. They want to get rid of a tenant that is not owing or violating rules. This is the situation I find myself and my family.

Stay away from these places! My husband and I lived here for about 3 years and Avison Young, the people that run the buildings are the worst. They never answer their phones for anything, the cleaning staff yell at residents at 5am in the morning, and the kids that live there party until 2am in morning. We recently just moved out and we got nothing back from our damage deposit because they don't know how to take rent out properly. So instead of taking the amount out that we left in the account specifically for them on multiple occasions, they decided to wait until we left to take the money. My advice is to save your money and look elsewhere. I'd give them a 0 if I could.

We moved in just over a month ago. I noticed alot of negative reviews after a week of living here. But the longer I am here the more I love the Gala. The management is great. They have people cleaning and maintaining the property daily which I have never had before in a condo or townhouse. They keep the ground in great condition. There are quite a few people that are not the most desirable neighbour's smoking pot and throwing cigarettes in front of my deck off there decks but honestly good luck finding a place that doesn't have that. Especially with a bigger condo building. The parkade is awesome. We have good size storage units. The units them selves are very nice as well. So far I love staying at the Gala and hope the future remains as great as the first month.

If I could give zero stars I would! The management of the building is the worst and they could care less about the tenants who live here! The apartments are beautiful inside and I loved that but the management of the building is just lacking. -In the pet friendly building, they do nothing about the people who do not pick up after their dogs. I 100% agree that people should be picking up after their dogs but they should have cameras outside to catch the people who don’t. Instead, they send out notices threatening to fine you but there is no way to catch the guilty parties so they go on leaving their dog poop everywhere. -They do nothing about the people who smoke cigarettes or weed in the apartment or on their balcony. This is a non-smoking building and every weekend my apartment would reek of weed, I contacted them, and they said that there is nothing that they can do about it. I understand that it would be hard to track these people down but it is possible…they just do not want to put in the effort. -They do not use pet friendly salt in the winter so when you take your dog outside for a walk their paws are burning immediately from the salt that they use. You would think that with it being a pet friendly building that they would use pet friendly salt. -I submitted a request for something to be repaired and they told me that they came in and it was fixed but it was not. I replied to their completed email telling them that it still was not fixed and they ignored it. I submitted another request and they said that it was repaired and yet again, it was not so I had to reply to their email again telling them that it was still not fixed. This process started in February, it is May, and my issue still is not fixed. oAs a sub comment, they called and asked if it was ok that they were going to come in to fix the problem on a specific date but I was on vacation and did not get the message so was unable to call them back to give permission. They still entered my apartment even though I did not call them back and give permission. At this point, I just wanted it fixed so I never said anything but that is illegal. -They neglect to tell you that you will have to pay a $300 fee to book the elevator if you plan to move out on a weekend. -The underground parking area and storage locker areas get broken into all the time. It was so bad that we just started leaving our car doors unlocked so that no one would smash our windows. The rental company might hire security to come and walk around for a weekend after something happens but that is just to make people feel better for a couple of days. After they leave, the shady people are back prowling the cars. -They are constantly asking you to resend paperwork that you have submitted already – pet approval forms, emergency contact forms and tenant insurance info.

I was one of the first tenants in the first building. I had a nice private bachelor suite to myself. The on site manager was Penny. I have to say, it was an excellent experience. I absolutely loved living there for the entire term of my lease. Problem however, even tho I was never late of rent, I had a good relations with the neighbors and had no issues, Emerald said I wasn't aloud to renew my lease. I was also told by Emerald I wasn't aloud to move into a different unit. I had to go month to month and trust that my rent wouldn't go up. That didn't seem right to me so I left after my lease ended. My new home is fantastic, I have nothing negative to say about the Gala or Penny. But Emerald did leave a bad taste in my mouth. I think they simply wanted to get rid of the renters to turn more units into Condos

I loved staying at the Gala. Most luxurious apartments around. Very efficient maintainance team. Never had an issue they didn't fix quickly. Talk about the cleaning team they are on point with the cleaning. I was sold on the place by the lady at the time who worked in the rental office. The only reson I scored this review so low was because of the horrible treatment of management. Unreasonable, inflexible, condescending, bordering on out right RUDE. Some in management should not be in a position to deal with the people whose rent pay their salaries. No one should feel intimidated by the sound of the voice of the people they faithfully pay rent to. While again I emphasize its a great place to stay... The service from management is HORRIBLE. A person should feel dignified when paying for a service.. that was not my experience.

THE Gala must not have liked my review, as they called Calgart Police to pay me a visit The Police called and advised they didn't need to come by to "check up on me" as requested after reading the review. Talk about harrasment!! Worst realty management I have ever dealt with. Ashley Kane is incompetant. When I lost my keys to my apartment including the keyless FOB to enter the package I estimate it took me at LEAST 3 weeks of constantly calling and emailing before they deigned to meet me. I workfull time days and when I was off, the building admin was off. I had to leave my apt unlocked the entire time. Then they did replace the keys. LOCKING MY APT DOOR with keys in the office forcing me stay in my car!! They have lost my rent cheques twice! The first time I had to pay a lawyer $48 to provide a bonus of indemnity to prove I hadnt cashed it myself, and then pay another 7.50 for a new draft. 3 months later they mysteriously found the original draft and tried to cash it, resulting in a NSF fee from them and my bank. I then had to pay another 7.50 to reissue a NEW draft! April they overcharged me by $405 and it took me about a week to track down Ashley Kane the property administrator as there is no one ever in the leasing office . For a 3 building complex. She apologised and said there was an "accounting " mix up and assured me the amount would be debited against my next months rent. They did not do this. They instead mailed out a cheque. Then on May 1st this year I put my full rent by way of a certified draft in the locked leasing office (its rarely staffed) in an envelope with my unit number and name on it. I videoed it on my phone as I have long lost any faith in these bumbling crooks. 7 days later I got a default notice demanding late fees and accusing me of being late. I immediately called Ashley Kane and got her assistant Rennell Leggett. I was told Ashley wasnt available and to contact the building administrator Logan Pinchbeck. I called the number on the business card he himself gave me and it routed me back to Rennell. She then gave me attitude and said I was causing the problem and I hadnt properly label the draft with my identity . Finally I tracked down a lady who I assume is the actual leasing agent. She was quite pleasant and assured me she had sorted it out (although no one bothered to notify me) I called Ashely again and she then accused me of harrasing her staff. The complex has been for sale for $72 000 000 for roughly 4 years now and AVISON YOUNG has been buying up land in the area to lease out as industrial property. There have been numerous break ins in the underground parade The building hires security for about a week after each breaking then gets rid of them . . One of the three buildings is pet friendly. None are smoking friendly. This fine for inside the suites but not allowing on your own balcony outside is a ridiculous and is reason I will nor renew lease..No garbage chutes, you have to take it all the way down 4 flights if you are on the top floor. You will not find a shower curtain that fits rail . Sounds crazy but Walmart, Sears, and Bed Bath and Beyond dont have any that fit at least not when I went .I had to buy a rail . They dont tell you this when you move in . You must have proof of rental insurance when signing lease. The hallways on the upper levels are either freezing cold or so hot ,you start sweating by the time you get to elevator.Suites that face the sun get VERY VERY hot in summer even with blinds closed and there is no air conditioning despite the "luxury" marketing. Rent is a little high in my opinion for a city that now has such a high rental availability.And brand new rental buildings like this are now popping up all over as the condo market is bloated. Do I regret moving here?ABSOLUTELY!! Building A has higher quality appliances and linen closets, that B does not. Storage lockers are $70 extra and you get only 1 parking stall B has smaller suites but isnt really any cheaper. C is 2nd newest and allows pets and has larger suites than B

Lease agent has no professionalism and no motivation. The lease agent Blaine Rurtherford no showed for our appointment to view and lease a unit that was booked for april 9 @ 11:00am. He got back to us at 4pm that day claiming to have been dealing with an issue with the underground parking. For 5hrs you would think he would run up to his office to let his clients know. There were a few others waiting outside his office that day. Pathetic