But as much as Scott enjoyed working with residential tenants, the commercial side of the business was where his real passion lay.
Austeville has an impressive and diverse stable of commercial properties across the Lower Mainland. “One of the fun things about the commercial side is that you get to deal with a lot of different kinds of businesses and meet all kinds of people,” says Scott, who, with his big smile and ready laugh, is clearly a people person.
He adds that Austeville’s varied client base allowed him to learn about all kinds of businesses and industries, from companies that develop digital effects for the movie industry, to multinationals, and local smaller mom and pop retailers .
Scott explains that property managers are responsible for leasing and overseeing all aspects of the buildings, including maintenance and renovations. Austeville, he says, was great to work for because it’s a “professionally managed company that pays attention to detail and puts the tenants first. And, the buildings are well located and spotless.”
“When something needs to be fixed, it’s fixed,” he adds, “We invest back into our buildings, we spend a lot of time trying to be ahead of the curve and not wait until something goes wrong.”
This service, he says, has only improved during his tenure as Austeville expanded and brought in more in-house systems and maintenance capacity. But one of the best things about working for Austeville, says Scott, is that because it’s a family-owned and run company he had a direct line of communication: “There’s no bureaucracy, so you can respond to tenant needs faster.”
Another career highlight has been Scott’s involvement with the Building Owners and Managers Association of BC. Scott sat on the BOMA board, organized the annual golf tournament and earned some prestigious recognition for his contributions to property management in the province, including winning the President’s Award and even a building-of-the-year award.
As he packs up the plaques for his BOMA awards along with other accumulated personal items from his Austeville office, Scott says, “I’m looking forward to retirement, but I’m really going to miss it here.”
He does, however, plan to keep in touch and even hopes to join a cohort of Austeville ‘alumni’ who crash the annual holiday party every year. In the meantime, he’s got lots of plans for his new-found free time, including travel, skiing and spending time at the family cottage in Oroville, Washington – where we have no doubt the maintenance is second to none.