Happy Birthday, Steve!

It's a big day around here at Lexington Heights - it's Steve's birthday! He has worked for Condor Management for eleven years now; and he is married to our Community Manager, Patty. When he's not beautifying Lexington Heights with his superb painting skills, he enjoys watching football, or perhaps whipping up a batch of his favorite food, ribs, for which he has his own special recipe. He also likes to golf, however the sub-zero temperatures and several feet of snow on the ground are putting a damper on that pastime for him.

For his birthday celebration Steve plans to go to dinner at Punch Pizza in St. Paul, where they make the best authentic Neapolitan-style pizza in the area. As for a birthday cake, Steve says no thanks - he'd rather just have peppermint bon-bon ice cream!

If you see him around today, be sure to wish Steve a happy birthday!

Steve and his son, Alex, from warmer days when it was possible to golf.

Lexington Heights Staff Dish on Their Favorite Winter Olympic Sports

Can  you hear the Olympic Anthem playing in your head already? It’s Winter Olympics time!

The staff here at Lexington Heights is super excited about the Winter Olympics, which begins today. Actually, the opening ceremony will begin around 10:00 a.m. our time, but we won't be able to watch it until this evening, when NBC will air it locally starting around 6:30 p.m.

Everyone on the staff has their favorite Winter Olympic sports that they like to watch. Check out what they said below, and then stop over to our Facebook page and share with us in the post comments what you're looking forward to watching.

Lexington Heights Staff's Favorite Winter Olympic Sports

Sara: ice skating, curling and ski jumping. Especially when she gets to watch them with her family!

Patty: hockey and figure skating

Charity: snowboarding.

Jason: hockey and bob sledding

James: snowboarding

Steve : hockey

The Survey Says - We Have a Great Staff!

Sometimes our residents need to move away from Lexington Heights for various factors in their lives. We're always sad to see them go and we are very interested in hearing from them how they viewed their experience at Lexington Heights. Often we've found that our wonderful former residents are sad to be moving on, and they have fond memories of their time at Lexington Heights Apartments. Here are some former resident survey responses that we have received in the past few months.

David 

“Beautiful area and very nice living space. Staff was always helpful and friendly. Will miss it!”

Taylor & Bridget 

“The management staff was always nice and very helpful. The community events were lots of fun."

Yogeeta & Devendra 

“Liked the cleanliness, maintenance, party room and game room”

Michael 

“I knew right away from the first day I moved in that this was as excellent apartment complex. Management staff assisted during my recovery surgery. They went above what was expected. Management and staff are the best!”

David 

“The most courteous staff I have ever encountered! From the beginning to the end of my lease. Staff is very understanding and quick to respond to any issue, big or small." 

With a track record like this, it's no wonder that our leasing staff has filled Lexington Heights to 100% occupancy again!

It's Charity's Birthday Today!

Today is a rather special day here at Lexington Heights - it is Charity's birthday! Charity is our Assistant Community Manager and she shared with us some of her "birthday favorites" with us.

Favorite Birthday Memory: Since her birthday is in the winter, and she's not a big fan of said winter, Charity would wait until the summer and take friends camping to celebrate her birthday!

Favorite Birthday Cake: Lemon, especially the lemon cake made by her grandma.

Favorite Birthday Gift: Lite-Brite.

Charity plans to celebrate her birthday this year by having dinner with her family and friends. Be sure to wish Charity a happy birthday if you see her around today!

Charity with her son, Harrison.

Happy birthday, Charity!

New Year's Resolutions From The Staff

The new year is about to begin and our staff is looking forward to a great 2014. We asked them each what their New Year's resolutions are, and here is what they said:

Staff New Year's Resolutions

Patty: Continue to maintain the property standards here at Lexington Heights

Charity: 100% occupied; no vacancies
Sara: Continue to provide excellent customer service
Jaime: Complete all maintenance requests within 24 hours
Jason: Continue to grow his knowledge of multi-housing maintenance

New Year's Party Drink Recipes

Our staff also recommends trying out these fun non-alcoholic drinks at your New Year's Eve party.

Cherry Bombs

Recipe source: http://www.marthastewart.com/336439/cherry-bombs

Ingredients:

Cherry Bomb. Source: marthastewart.com

1 cup grenadine
1 liter clear citrus soda
18 maraschino cherries

Directions:

1. Place 2 cups water in amedium saucepan, and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Add grenadine; stir to combine. Pour mixture into two ice-cube trays. Freeze until solid, 2 hours or overnight.

2. Fill six glasses with grenadine ice cubes. Top with soda. Garnish with cherries, and serve.

Perfect Pina Coladas

Recipe source: http://www.marthastewart.com/326857/pina-colada

Ingredients:

Pina Colada. Source: marthastewart.com

1. 2 cups fresh or canned pineapple juice
2. ¾ cup cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez
3. 3 cups crushed ice
4. 4 fresh pineapple spears, for garnish

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except garnish in a blender. Pour into tumblers, garnish with pineapple spears and serve immediately.

Meet James - Newest Member of Our Paint Crew

We have a new member of our paint crew here at Lexington Heights Apartment. Please join us in welcoming James to our community. He will join the rest of our dedicated staff in making sure that the property and buildings are looking great.

Here's a few fun facts about James: He likes to skateboard at an indoor skate-park in Minneapolis called Familia. It's his favorite skate-park in the area. He also enjoys playing games on his Xbox, especially Halo 2. James' favorite food is a big ol' T-bone steak. Plus, once in a while he likes to take photos and hone his photography skills.

Should you see James around Lexington Heights, say hello and welcome him to our community!

James recently joined the paint crew at Lexington Heights.

Mindy's Halloween Cookers - A Heartwarming Story

One of the great things about working for a family-owned apartment management company is the close-knit relationships that develop between the staff. One recent heartwarming example of this was the annual Twin Cities Kidney Walk where the staff of Condor Corporation came together to show support for one of their own.

Mindy is the Community Manager at Raven Hill, which is a Condor apartment community in Burnsville, and she has been battling kidney disease for some time. Last month the Condor Corporation staff stood in solidarity with Mindy by walking with her in the Annual Kidney Walk held at the Thompson-Reuters campus in Eagan, MN. They had an awesome team name and costumes to boot! They dubbed themselves "Mindy's Halloween Cookers" and had all sorts of fun dressing up for the event. Staff from each of our apartment communities in the Twin Cities, plus members of Mindy's family, took part. They gathered in the Lexington Heights Party Room to get all dressed up in their costumes before they headed out to the walk.

The National Kidney Foundation, which is the sponsor of the event, says this on their website:

"With your help, we raised $262,000 to fight against kidney disease. Your contribution will help fund our initiatives in awareness, prevention and treatment. Without your dedication, enthusiasm and support, we truly could not accomplish all that we do."

Everyone had a great time and the weather for the event was perfect! The team theme of Halloween Cookers was creative and prompted some fun costumes. Mindy would like to thank everyone who came out for the walk; she was encouraged by everyone's enthusiasm and felt loved by their show of support.

Of course, we have to share with you some awesome photos from the walk! Enjoy!

Mindy's Halloween Cookers - banner, costumes, and big smiles. These people know how to do it!

Mindy and her family all dressed up for the walk!

Lexington Heights' Community Manager, Patty, and her son Alex getting ready at the Lexington Heights Party Room.

The Minnesota Wild Mascot was even there!

Yeah! Mindy's Halloween Cookers had a great time!

Two Years Can Go Fast!

If you have been around the rental office at Lexington Heights you have no doubt met our Assistant Manager, Charity. Well, she's celebrating two years at Lexington Heights this October. That is two years of providing residents with excellent service and welcoming everyone with a smile!

In honor of her anniversary month, we present you with these top ten fun facts about Charity:

1. Charity has worked at all of the Condor apartment communities in the Twin Cities and has even been to Gulf Gate, our community in Sarasota, Florida, for a couple days too. She has worked with all the Condor Community Managers.
2. She started working as a full-time Leasing Consultant at Lexington Heights in October of 2011
3. Charity was promoted to Assistant Manager of Lexington Heights in May 2013
4. In August Charity and Patty rocked it and hit 100% occupancy at Lexington Heights 
5. What makes her happiest - sunshine, a beach, her son Harrison, salsa music and cooking Latin food
6. She loves to dance… tap, ballet, salsa, jazz etc.. 
7. Her favorite thing about working at Lexington Heights is the residents! Plus, Patty is the best boss ever! And… Charity "gets" to do laundry on her lunch break
8. She is looking forward to continued growth with Condor Corporation
9. She is a hopeless romantic at heart… shh
10. Her favorite colors are black and turquoise

Charity celebrates two years at Lexington Heights this month!

New Maintenance Staffer Is Great, Even If He Is A Bears Fan...

We have a new addition to our maintenance staff here at Lexington Heights - we are excited to introduce you to Jason! He will be working with Jaime and you'll see him all around our apartment community making sure things are in tip-top shape.

Jason lived in Chicago, IL, until he was six, then moved to Menomonie, WI. He attended UW-Stout and then transferred to UW-Eau Claire. He worked for a while in Menomonie before joining the Lexington Heights staff. Apparently you can't take the Chicago out of Jason, however, because he likes all the Chicago professional sports teams. His favorite pastime is hunting back home in Menomonie.

Jason is excited to be at Lexington Heights because of the great location, the people, and how quiet it is around our community. If you see him around, please be sure to welcome him to the neighborhood!

Summer Staffer Kirsten Heads Back To Idaho

This past Thursday was Kirsten’s last day working for Lexington Heights. Kirsten spent the summer with us helping in the office as a temporary leasing consultant. Today she is catching a flight back to Idaho to start her second year at the College of Idaho. Her favorite part about her summer here was going on relaxing bike rides and being able to spend time with her sister and brother-in-law. Her favorite part about working at Lexington Heights was the chance to get to know the residents.

We want to wish her luck on her next adventure and thank her for the time she spent working for us! Goodbye Kirsten!

Meet Kirsten, Lexington Heights' Leasing Office Summer Staffer

The Lexington Heights staff is getting some help during the busy months of summer - Kirsten, who hails from Idaho, is joining the leasing staff through July and August, while she visits her sister and brother-in-law who live at Lexington Heights. Her sister, Susan, was a leasing consultant for Lexington Heights over five years ago. In the fall Kirsten will be a college sophomore back in Idaho, where she's studying Health Science and Conservation Biology.

Kirsten loves the outdoors, in fact she likes to bike, swim, camp, hike, and freestyle snow-board. She also likes to try out new outdoor sports; for her birthday this past weekend she tried out paddle boarding for the first time.

Her favorite things about Minnesota is how green the landscape is (she's from an area of Idaho that is technically a desert!) and all of the great biking paths that are so close to Lexington Heights.

She's excited to help out in the leasing office, and looks forward to meeting the wonderful residents at Lexington Heights.

Stop by the office and introduce yourself to Kirsten!

Kirsten and her sister, Susan, learning to paddle-board at Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan.

Pink Power

The staff at Lexington Heights is joining the battle against breast cancer by participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on May 12 at the Mall of America. Sara and Patty are walking to celebrate Sara's five year milestone as a breast cancer survivor.

If you would like to help in the effort to find a cure for breast cancer, consider joining the Lexington Heights staff by making a donation at the team's web page here: http://www.active.com/donate/komentc13/EMaltby5. We greatly appreciate and are thankful for any help you can give.

Sara's Pink Power team at the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure five years a

Trading Paintbrushes For Fishing Poles

Recently Peter and Rick, two of our painters from Lexington Heights, traveled down to our property in Sarasota, Florida, to help out with a major painting project there. Apparently they've been "working" pretty hard. Recently they confused their paintbrushes with their fishing poles. Well, it can't be all work and no play, right?

Rick has been helping out at our Florida community, Gulf Gate in Sarasota, Florida, and catching a little sun and relaxation.

You can barely see him behind that humongous fish, but that's Peter, one of our painters here at Lexington Heights.

Good Evan! Look Who's Birthday Is Today!

We have a special birthday today at Lexington Heights! Evan is turning 20. He has been a part of our maintenance team for almost two years and has been doing a great job at it. His favorite birthday memory is the year he turned 14 and received his first snowmobile as a birthday present from his parents.

If you see Evan around today be sure to wish him a happy birthday. From all of us here at Lexington Heights, Happy Birthday, Evan!

Even More Brazen Back-Patting

We value the feedback we get from our residents, both current and former. We'd like to share some of the great things people are saying about Lexington Heights when they fill out their move-out surveys.

Pam : My apt was very comfortable and affordable. And the staff was very nice.
Laramie & Brooke: Great location and great staff!
Anonymous: The apartment was large and comfortable. Also offered a nice walking trail.
Paul: The management group is the best.
Anonymous: Staff was great and we really appreciated the quick response to maintenance service.
Anonymous: Great central location and access to major highways.

Plus we've had these great comments from new residents which they gave to us in their move-in surveys.
Anonymous: Patty made the move in process a snap
Jean: transition was exceptional

Jaime Joins Lexington Heights' Maintenance Team

We've recently had a new addition to our maintenance team at Condor Corporation. Jaime will be working maintenance at Lexington Heights and Salem Green, one of our other communities. He is the older brother of Daniel, who works for Condor at Salem Green Apartments. Jaime is no stranger to us at Condor, he previously worked at our apartment community in Burnsville, Raven Hill, for three years. He left Condor for just one year and now he is back on our team - we're happy to have him back! When he's not working Jaime enjoys spending time with his family.

If you see Jaime around Lexington Heights be sure to extend him a warm welcome!

Jaime is back on the team!

Jaime (left) and Daniel (right), brothers and co-workers!

Has It Really Been Six Years?

Happy anniversary, Patty!

In a couple weeks Patty, Lexington Heights' Assistant Manager, will be celebrating her 6th year working at Lexington Heights Apartments. Patty started working part-time in the office on the weekends and then made her way up to a full-time leasing consultant. Now she is our wonderful Assistant Manager. 

Patty says her favorite part of her job is knowing all the residents that are a part of our community plus the added bonus of working with her husband who is a painter at Lexington Heights. 

The next time you see Patty be sure to tell her ‘Happy Anniversary!’

Residents of Lexington Heights can always count on Patty's smile!

Painting Crew Rises To New Heights

You may have seen "Betsy" around Lexington Heights lately, and she'll be at our community for a little while longer. What's Betsy? It's a 1988 boom truck that the painting crew uses to lift themselves up to the hard to reach places on the outside of our buildings. The painting crew has been working hard repainting patio decks, railings, and replacing patio boards. Be sure to give them a wave and say "High" when you see them around!

Peter, one of our painters, decided that the 1988 boom truck needed a name. he decided the "besty" name for the truck is Betsy!

Peter fancied up Lexington's 2300 building with an "L" made of tape because he could.

We're sure glad to have Peter around! The man is not afraid of heights!

When Did Houdini Join Lexington Heights' Maintenance Team?

Back in October we posted about how Evan, one of our maintenance team members, was able to fit almost all the way into a cabinet to fix a sink. A real Houdini of a trick we say! But that's not the end of the story.

Not to be outdone, we have photographic evidence of Steve, another of our maintenance team members, trying to replicate Evan's trick! OK, so his legs don't quite get in but Steve definitely gets an A for effort!

Both of these fine men are constantly working to make sure everything in your apartments are repaired quickly and in great working order for you. If you have any maintenance requests make sure to submit them to the office, so we can make sure your home is just perfect for you!

Evan's almost all the way in, just a foot remaining out.

Steve's legs are a tad longer, but he's just as committed!

Christina Celebrates Ten Year Anniversary With Condor Management!

Christina has worked for Condor for ten years!

Congratulations to Christina on her ten year Anniversary working for Condor Management, which was on February 18th!

In the time that Christina has been employed with Condor Management she has worked at all four of Condor's Minnesota properties and has lived at three of them. During her first four years with Condor she was a full-time employee. Then Christina decided that she would like to pursue the culinary arts and was thrilled that Condor supported her decision. At that point she transitioned into part time employment with Condor. These days she's working at Lexington Heights Apartments and Raven Hill Apartments, helping to fill in the schedules at both communities. She's attending culinary school when she's not working.

Christina notes that she is thankful for the wonderful staff at Condor Management and she's developed some great friendships by working for Condor. The consensus among all the staff here at Condor Management is that she's a wonderful employee and we are very grateful to have her around!

To celebrate her ten year anniversary we're thinking that it would be only fair if Christina made us all a Dark Chocolate Soufflé!