Spring is almost here and with that, we are super excited to announce that we are opening reservations for garden plots at 611 W Healey! If you are interested in reserving a plot you can fill out this form.
To help us get ready for planting season The U of I Extension and University of Illinois’ Metropolitan Food Supply and Environmental Systems(MFST) program will be hosting a webinar for Royse + Brinkmeyer residents this Saturday, February 27th at 12 PM.
In this workshop, you will have help from our friends at the U of I to pick out what to grow in your garden, when to plant it, and how to layout your garden bed and containers to make the most of your space.
We will talk about layouts for the new garden plots on Healey and how to grow in containers on your balcony and inside your home.
We are so excited to be able to work with the U of I's MFST program and the U of I Extension on this project and are incredibly grateful to them for providing us with the expertise to make this project come alive.
Spring is a busy time here at Royse + Brinkmeyer, it's renewal season! We love our residents and want to make sure that you get as many opportunities as possible to claim your apartment before we start marketing it to new renters. Last week we sent out notifications that renewal offers had been uploaded to everyone's Resident Portal . We're really excited to see whether our residents are going to renew, so we decided to add an extra incentive to renewing early. Over the next month and a half, we are giving SIX residents ONE MONTH OF FREE RENT! The earlier you submit your renewal, the more chances you have to win:
3 winners will be drawn on February 15th
2 winners will be drawn on March 1st
1 winner will be drawn on March 15th
What to Expect
Over the next few weeks, our staff will be working to get in touch with every resident and talk over renewal offers.
Starting this week we will visit each resident personally to answer any questions you might have regarding the online renewal process and your offer.
After that, we'll continue to reach out via phone, email, or both to check in. We don't want anyone to miss out on renewing their lease, so this may happen more than once.
How to Renew Online
Step 1- Accept Your Renewal Offer
Log into your Resident Portal. Once in your portal, you will see a red banner that reads: "You have a Lease Renewal Offer!" with two clickable links: "Review Offer"; and "Remind Me Later". You may do either of the following:
Click the "Review Offer" link, and follow the prompts to accept your offer.
Click the "Remind Me Later" link, which will remove the red banner from your dashboard. You will still be able to access the offer by clicking on the "It's time to Renew" link under your Priority Alerts.
You have until 10:00 a.m. on March 15, 2021, to renew your lease. If your renewal is not completed by that time, your apartment could be rented.
Step 2- Sign Your Renewal Agreement
Once you have accepted your Renewal Offer, your Lease Renewal Agreement will be available for your digital signature within 72 hours. You will be notified via email when it is ready to be signed. To digitally sign your renewal, you will do the following:
Log into your Resident Portal. Under the Priority Alerts Menu, click "Your Lease Is Ready" and follow the prompts. At this time, you will see clickable orange buttons. Click these buttons and follow the prompts to complete the process for the following:
Lease Agreement
Garage/Parking Renewal (This will only appear if you rent a garage, parking space, or carport)
Once the documents are signed, you will be prompted to exit the lease.
Note: If you have multiple persons on your lease or a co-signer, they must also sign the Lease Renewal Agreement to secure your apartment for another year.
ALL APARTMENTS THAT ARE NOT RENEWED BY 10:00 A.M. ON MARCH 15, 2021 WILL BE PLACED ON THE MARKET FOR RENT.
THIS JUST IN: Santa's Elves are Overloaded this Year
If Santa delivered gifts that need to be assembled, installed, or wrapped before Christmas (or after), or if you need help getting your home ready for the holidays, we want to offer our R+B@Home Elves* to help you get the job done! R+B@Home Elves here to help with anything you might need.
Not sure what our elves can do for you? Here are some ways we may be of help:
Gift Wrapping - $25/hr
For the holidays we are now offering gift wrapping! Have all of your gifts wrapped beautifully by R+B@Home staff! This service costs $25/hour with a 1 hour minimum. Wrapped gifts can be picked up within 48 hours. (subject to change if demand is high)
Grocery Pickup - $12.50/30 minutes
Let us brave the holiday madness for you! Order your groceries and we will pick them up and deliver them right to your door. We also offer grocery shopping services at $25/hour
Furniture Assembly - $75
We've all been there. No one likes assembling a new dresser or bookshelf, so let us take care of it! Our maintenance staff will come and assemble any common ready to assemble furniture: bed frames; couches; bookshelves; etc.
Wall Hangings
Trying to spruce things up for the season? Let us help! We can make sure things are hung level and avoid any damage to your walls. Plus we won’t charge you for the holes when you move out!
Smart Device Set-Up
Got a new smart device like a smart thermostat or smart lightbulbs and plugs? We can set it up so you can avoid the hassle!
Whatever you might need--just ask!
**R+B@Home Elves are actually human, and can only do so much--services are available while elves have openings.
We really have the best residents! This year has been tough but we’ve made it through together and we want to say a big Royse + Brinkmeyer thank you to our wonderful community. Here are just a few examples of why we think our residents are the best:
In March, we asked residents to donate masks in exchange for rent credits. The response was overwhelming! We were able to donate over 1000 masks to C-U at Home, Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, Christie Clinic, and Carle Foundation Hospital. That’s pretty awesome.
And, as though that wouldn’t be enough, this month we asked for donations for our annual Toys for Tots drive. Once again, residents delivered! This photo is JUST the main leasing office; there are even more at our satellite offices! One lucky resident, Lauren from State St., won one month's free rent in our raffle!
When we asked residents to donate holiday cards for senior citizens living in care facilities we received over 250 cards! We also gave away some prizes for those:
Most cards donated : Gary from Crowwood Pointe! Gary donated 65 cards and won a $50 Walmart gift card!
Most Creative Card : Jade from Ginger Creek donated the most creative card and won a $25 Meijer gift card!
Raffle : Jennifer from Misty Cove won our early donation raffle and won a $15 Schnucks gift card.
We also offered rent credits this month to help alleviate some of the strain of the pandemic but gave residents the choice to, instead, donate their credit to C-U at Home and have Royse + Brinkmeyer match it. You raised $15,500 to help support our communities’ homeless!
Plus, you showed us some love by voting us Illini Radio Group’s Best of Champaign Urbana’s Best Property Management Company AND the News Gazette’s People’s Choice Best Rental Company!
We are so proud of our community and grateful to have such wonderful and giving residents. So, THANK YOU for being a bright spot in a difficult year. We couldn’t ask for better.
Last week our friends at the U of I taught us how to grow herbs indoors. Now they’re back with some tasty recipes to try using those freshly grown herbs!
First of all, check out this blog post from the University of Illinois Extension on seasoning food with fresh herbs. They’ll also teach you some handy herb/vegetable pairings, how to convert recipes calling for dry herbs to fresh herbs, and how to tell if your herbs are old.
Subbing Fresh Herbs for Dried:
According to the U of I Extension, you will typically need 3x the amount of fresh herbs as you do dry. For example, a recipe calling for 1 teaspoon of dried parsley would need 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley.
Now that we know a little more about cooking with fresh herbs, let's try out some recipes! All of these were provided by Maggie Furr, of the University of Illinois’ Metropolitan Food and Environmental Systems program who has been helping us plan our super cool Urban Farming project.
Here are the recipes she’s pulled together for us:
Tomato Basil Soup
2 1/4 lbs Roma tomatoes and 1 1/4 lbs Cherry tomatoes
4 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
2 small yellow onions, sliced just under 1/2-inch thick
2 cups (32g) lightly packed fresh basil leaves
4 – 5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with 3 Tbsp olive oil then season with salt and pepper (place Roma halves cut side upright).
Place onion slices and garlic on a rimmed half sheet and toss brush with remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil on all sides, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place baking sheet with tomatoes and half sheet with onions in the oven side by side and roast onions 30 - 35 minutes until edges are golden, and tomatoes 40 - 45 minutes until golden.
Peel away any burnt papery layers of onions if there are any. Pull peels from tomatoes.
Pour onions and tomatoes into a large pot. Add 4 cups vegetable broth and the basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
vegetable broth to thin as desired.
Blend soup with an immersion blender or in small batches in a blender (only fill blender half full and remove center insert and cover with a kitchen towel). Serve warm topped with grilled cheese croutons if desired.
Oregano Lemon Chicken and Potatoes
CHICKEN
1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 tbsp olive or avocado oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
POTATOES
1 tbsp olive or avocado oil
1 lb white potatoes, halved
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp garlic, minced
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tbsp fresh oregano
Add 1 1/2 tablespoon oil to a large skillet. Heat on medium high. Once the pan is hot, add your chicken. Salt and pepper. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes uncovered, flipping occasionally. Chicken should have some browning but should not be cooked through. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Now add potatoes and saute, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until outside of potatoes are browned. Potatoes shouldn't be cooked through quite yet.
Reduce heat to medium. Add chicken back to skillet along with the chicken stock, lemon juice, and minced garlic. Sprinkle with salt, onion powder, dried thyme, and dried parsley. Stir. Cover. Simmer for 5 to 7 minutes or until potatoes and chicken are cooked through.
Taste. Add more salt or lemon juice if desired. Stir in fresh oregano and serve.
Cream Cheese, Tomato and Chives Omelette
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
salt and ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons seeded and diced tomato
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
Whisk eggs, milk, salt, and pepper together in a bowl.
Heat a 6-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat; pour egg mixture into the hot skillet, tilting so egg mixture covers the entire bottom of the skillet. Slowly cook egg mixture until set, 5 to 10 minutes.
Arrange small dollops of cream cheese onto half the omelet; sprinkle tomato and chives over cream cheese. Fold omelet in half over the fillings. Remove skillet from heat and cover until cream cheese has softened, 2 to 3 minutes.
Chimichurri Sauce
1 bunch flat leaf parsley (or cilantro parsley mix) - leaves only
2 tbsp oregano fresh leaves
1 lime - juiced ( or 2 tbsp red wine vinegar)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic -grated
1/2 chili pepper - optional
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 pinch sea salt - to your taste
Add the parsley, oregano, olive oil, chili pepper and lime juice or vinegar to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process until combined and smooth to your liking. (Alternatively use a sharp knife and chop the herbs on a cutting board)
Transfer the sauce to a bowl or a jar and stir in the grated garlic and red pepper flakes. Season to your taste with the sea salt and more lime.
Store in the refrigerator in a tightly closed jar / container for up to 10 ways or freeze for later use.
Even though we are all celebrating a little differently this year, the holidays are always a busy time! We would hate for you to miss out on the opportunity to help make someone's holiday season a little brighter... including yours!
We have a few opportunities for our residents to spread the holiday spirit this month!
Rent Credit/Matched C-U at Home Donation
Deadline December 10th Royse +Brinkmeyer would like to show support for our friends without an address this winter. With the pandemic looming and unemployment increasing, we've decided to offer a $25 credit toward our residents' rent!
But we'd also like to give our residents the opportunity to support those less priveleged. So we are giving residents the option to donate their credit to support C-U at Home and their mission of serving the most vulnerable homeless in our community. For every credit donated to C-U at Home Royse and Brinkmeyer will match with another $25 donation! These funds will help support C-U at Home through their upcoming event, "One Winter Night" .
Residents interested should email Maureen Peck and let her know whether you would like to accept the credit or donate it to C-U at Home. We support our residents either way! Together we can make a difference!
Toys for Tots Toy Drive
Deadline December 11th Each year the Toys for Tots program collects new and unwrapped toys and delivers them to underprivileged children in Champaign County.
If you would like to participate you just need to buy a NEW toy, and drop it off, unwrapped, at our main leasing office (211 W. Springfield). From there, toys will be distributed through Lite Rock 97.5 to the Salvation Army.
For every new toy you bring in you can enter a name in our drawing for FREE RENT!
Happiness for the Holidays Card Campaign
Deadline December 12th In light of the pandemic people in nursing homes, retirement facilities, and long-term care may not get to see family members or friends this holiday season.
Join us in helping Mix 94.5 spread some holiday cheer to the residents of local care facilities this season! Buy a holiday card (or make your own) or have the kids color a cute holiday picture (free printable coloring pages) and drop it off at our main leasing office (211 W Springfield) by December 12 for a chance to win a gift card to a local business!
First Place Winner - $50 gift card for the resident who submits the most cards/coloring pages.
Second Place Winner- $25 gift card for the resident who submits the most creative cards/coloring pages. Royse + Brinkmeyer will deliver the cards to Mix 94.5 who will distribute them to residents in local care facilities just in time for the holidays!
Christmas Caroling
December 14th-17th Look out for Santa's elves. It may be one, or two, or even three. You'll recognize them as staff of R+B. We'll be decked out in red and green, as we bring you our best caroling!
Here's when and where you can expect to see (and hear) us. Feel free to step outside your door, out on your balcony, or come to the nearest property to listen or even join in!
Monday, December 14th
We will be caroling at Prospect Pointe from 4:00pm-5:00pm.
Tuesday, December 15th
We will be caroling at Stonegate Village from 2:00pm-3:00pm.
Wednesday, December 16th
We will be caroling at Prairie Place and State Street from 11:00am-11:30am and Ginger Creek from 1:00pm-2:00pm.
Thursday, December 17th
We will be caroling at 520 Neil from 11:30am-12:00pm and at Westwood Village from 4:30pm-5:00pm.
We have the best residents and hope to bring a smile to your face during this holiday season!
