OakWood designing a boost for the Glebe

By Jaden Croucher

After a $1.7-million makeover both inside and out, the long-time site of Randall’s Paint is now a gleaming advertisement for two companies that hope to help spruce up your home, OakWood and Randall’s. OakWood, Ottawa’s largest build design renovator, is part of the Liptak Group of Companies that bought the building at 555 Bank Street five years ago, renovated the outside and two months ago opened a 4,000-square-foot, second-floor showroom for mid-to-high-end renovations, new kitchens, custom homes and multi-unit, rental-income buildings. OakWood president John Liptakhopes the upgraded building at the northern entrance to the Glebe will help win more local business and also contribute to the revitalization of the neighbourhood.

“We’ve invested heavily in reinvigorating the Glebe, we’ve put our money where our mouth is,” he said in an interview. “But the goal wasn’t just to count the money we put into it but to serve our many clients in the downtown area and to strengthen our connection to the Glebe community.” “What we’re doing is being a local builder, we’re in the neighbourhood. Our clients don’t have to drive far to come and see us.” The Glebe address is a satellite of the company’s main headquarters at 865 Taylor Creek Drive in Orleans. It centres on a state-of-the-art, 27,000-square-foot design and build studio in what Liptak calls “essentially an ultra-green, LEED platinum building,” which has won many local, provincial and national awards for design and build. But it’s a long trip for Glebites interested in a renovation, so Liptak decided to come closer, and the response has been very positive.“We’re delighted with the Glebe people coming in to say how much they like the place,” said Liptak. “It was really nice to see that we were welcomed in the community like that.” OakWood designs and builds about 350 new kitchens a year and currently has about 120 renovations and additions on the go at one time. It now has 12 custom homes under construction, ranging in price from $1.6 to $10.5 million. The company started in 1956 after John Liptak Sr. came to Canada from a long line of skilled carpenters and cabinet makers in Germany. His son, John Jr, succeeded him in 1996 and diversified by establishing several complementary companies in construction and technology. Continuing the family legacy, John’s daughters Angela and Patricia now serve, respectively, as chief financial officer and chief operations officer, and their mother is vice president. The grandkids are being groomed as the fifth generation in the family business. The lot at 555 Bank Street was vacant until 1991 when David Martin saw a future there for Randall’s Paint and developed a leading-edge building. In 2010, OakWood started to work with Randall’s and had a small venue inside its stores. In 2019, with Martin about to retire, his son Lee sold the building and the business to Liptak. After Randall’s was consolidated at 555 Bank by closing other locations, Liptak then sold the paint business to current owner Marc Pilon who leased the bottom floor and basement. Oak-Wood’s plans to renovate upstairs were stalled by COVID-19 but finally got going in 2023, even as other Glebe businesses continued to struggle. “We wanted to be there as one of the first ones to stimulate the area and embark on renewal and show that we’re open for business,” says Liptak. Outside, upgrades have produced an innovative, environmentally sound site embellished with modernized awnings and heat-recovery wraps, beautifying the building and reducing the cost of air conditioning. They repaired planters and put in new trees and plants, fixed the interlocking stone, paved the parking lot and added new exterior lights. Inside, the showroom features modern staged kitchens, a wide array of cabinetry and a variety of home designs, with lots of high tech to help clients plan their projects. There are also boardrooms, design areas and a large working kitchen with a float-ing 18-foot-long stone table, so Oak-Wood can host events, even for other companies.“What we’re trying to do is reinvigorate the area, and I think we’ve accomplished it with this building upgrade,” says Liptak. “Now we get people here every day. There’s a bit of a snowball effect, and that’ll help the whole community for sure.” With lots of Glebe’s interest in renovations, both OakWood and Randall’s hope to thrive in their newly upgraded location.

Jaden Croucher is a journalism student at Carleton University and a writer for Her Campus Carleton.