KEILTY began with a simple idea: real estate could be more than bricks and mortar, it could deliver exceptional experiences. Shaped by A.J. Keilty's upbringing at his family's Gananoque Inn & Spa and by an early Starbucks tenancy, that conviction became a philosophy of investing in people for two kinds of return, Return on Investment and Return on Individual.
A.J. Keilty, a Queen's Commerce graduate, launches Varsity Communities to manage a seven-bedroom rental at 407 Earl Street. High-quality photography, internet-inclusive leases, biweekly housekeeping, and a rental-auction system beat revenue targets by 50%.
KEILTY acquires the historic Louise House at 329 Johnson Street, converts it into premium one- and two-bedroom residences, and secures Starbucks as its first commercial tenant. More would follow.
A.J. partners with former housemates Oskar Johansson and Bernard Luttmer of Podium Developments to invest in new development projects. The first office is a den in a downtown Toronto condo.
Teresa Gagnon joins as KEILTY's first full-time housekeeper, building in-unit cleaning services and a standard of warmth that becomes part of the company's DNA.
A.J. is elected President of the Kingston Rental Property Owners Association, and KEILTY completes and leases the 16-bed Earl Town Homes.
KEILTY completes the 24-bed Liberty Terrace and occupies its first official ground-floor leasing office.
The 56-bed Bakery Suites is renovated and leased, the property team grows to 10, and on-campus marketing events begin.
KEILTY doubles its Kingston home office to 1,100 square feet at 337 Barrie Street and grows the team by 50%.
The 55-bed Park Lane I is completed and leased as KEILTY refines its 24-hour unit-turnover process.
KEILTY completes the 110-bed Albert Terrace.
The 185-bed Park Lane II is completed, and construction begins in Oshawa beside Durham College and Ontario Tech University.
Varsity Communities introduces a new logo and adopts Matterport 3D virtual tours. The 210-bed Phase 1 of Taylorwood Town Homes opens in Oshawa.
Phase 2 of Taylorwood (110 beds) is completed in Oshawa, and KEILTY breaks ground on Simcoe Town Homes in Barrie.
The largest project to date opens in Barrie for Georgian College students. After the sale of 1,000 beds, the team receives a well-earned surprise bonus.
Phase 3 of Taylorwood brings Oshawa to 430 beds, the first crane goes up for University Studios, and KEILTY hosts its first company-wide All Hands Summit in Kingston.
KEILTY launches Alwington Communities to manage not-for-profit condominium corporations across Southern Ontario, and forms KEILTY Realty Corporation to give team members ownership stakes in the properties they manage.
University Studios opens beside Durham College and Ontario Tech, its ground floor anchored by a second Starbucks. KEILTY launches the Community Academy and buys a four-storey home office at Queen and Barrie.
University Towns opens in Oshawa, KEILTY begins institutional-scale work with Blue Vista Capital Management, and, after eight years of effort, secures the building permit for the 309-bed Unity Point.
Queen's Alma Mater Society names KEILTY Kingston's best housing provider with the Golden Key. Early adoption of Zoom helps the team adapt quickly through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unity Point opens downtown near Queen's and leases to full occupancy. KEILTY breaks ground on the 350-bed Unity Place and founds Portsmouth Residential for build-to-rent family homes in Eastern Ontario.
KEILTY acquires 863 Princess Street, a 47,730-square-foot Class A office building in midtown Kingston anchored by long-term national tenants, stepping into commercial office ownership at scale.
Unity Place opens across Princess Street from Unity Point, adding 350 beds of downtown Kingston student housing under the Varsity Communities brand, and leases to 100% occupancy.
KEILTY acquires 80 Queen Street, the Regency Court office building in downtown Kingston, and later moves its head office to Suite 300, where the team works today.
KEILTY rolls out flat-rate property management for owners, bringing transparent pricing and a dedicated manager to rental owners across 28 Ontario communities.
After growing the condominium-management platform to more than 100 corporations across Southern Ontario, KEILTY sells Alwington Communities to Bendale Property Management to focus on rental housing and operations.
Cityflats selects KEILTY as property manager for Faculty 47, a restored 1873 schoolhouse reimagined as 17 apartments in downtown Kingston, and KEILTY's first engagement with Cityflats.
Managed for an institutional owner, Mural in Kingston and Hillside Apartments in Ottawa reach 100% pre-leased ahead of the school year.
Cityflats selects KEILTY as exclusive property manager for The Grove, a new purpose-built rental community in Kingston's west end, up to 597 apartments across five phases.
KEILTY becomes a Tommy's Express franchisee and begins developing its first express car wash in Brockville, extending the KEILTY approach to a new kind of real estate operation.
The next chapter of this story could be yours. Wherever your rental sits among our 28 Ontario communities, the same team, systems, and care are ready for your door. Start with a free rental evaluation.
From a single student house to thousands of homes, workplaces, and communities across Ontario, the lessons learned in hospitality and in caring for people still guide everything KEILTY does today.
Ontario property management with published pricing, same-day answers, and no surprises. Since 2003.
300-80 Queen Street
Proudly Canadian Owned