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We build what we keep

Helisis and Gestion Kokolakis develop purpose-built rental housing in Greater Montréal and retain it as long-term owner-operators. Together they have delivered 186 apartments since 2023.

Helisis Gestion Kokolakis
ANDAS living room looking toward the kitchen, under exposed wood beams
2
Buildings delivered together
186
New apartments
500+
Apartments managed by Helisis
91 %
Of ANDAS leased two months after completion

Our philosophy

How we think about a building

Helisis is a family business. Its mission has not changed since the first building in 2002: to be a positive contribution to our tenants, our team and our community, and to offer places where people can live and work with dignity and comfort, with respect for our neighbours, the neighbourhood and nature.

We want to be proud of the projects we build. After we build them, we keep them and operate them for the long term. We become stakeholders of the community.

  1. We hold every building we develop

    Helisis develops for long-term ownership. Each building is held and operated by our own management team, so design and construction choices are judged over the life of the building rather than at delivery.

  2. Owners who answer the phone

    More than twenty years of operating apartments inform our development work: which systems last, which materials need constant repair, and what tenants value. Those lessons are applied from unit layouts to heating systems.

  3. Natural materials, better living

    Where the program allows, we build in mass timber and leave the structure exposed. Wood stores carbon rather than emitting it and gives interiors a warmer character; ANDAS, which means "to breathe", was designed on that principle. Existing buildings are held to the same standard: Helisis was among the first owners to convert apartment buildings to bi-energy heating with heat pumps.

  4. Hospitality, not just units

    A residential building is judged by more than its units. Lobbies, rooftops and shared rooms shape how residents experience it. In Lachine, the project also included the remediation of a former industrial lot and a shared garden for the neighbouring buildings.

  5. Share what we learn

    ANDAS tested new approaches to building in wood, and its technical reports are public so that others can build on them. We share what worked and what did not: Montréal needs more good housing than any single builder can deliver.

The partners

Two kinds of expertise, around the same table.

Each project combines two disciplines. Helisis brings ownership, financing and property operations; Gestion Kokolakis brings engineering, cost control and construction management.

Portrait of Kai Xiong Zhang

Helisis

Kai Xiong Zhang

Kai is the second generation of the family behind Helisis. He started managing the family's apartments while studying at HEC Montréal, where he earned his bachelor's degree in finance and entrepreneurship with honours, with an exchange at HEC Lausanne. He joined the family business in 2014, founding Helisis Management, and has helped grow it into a portfolio of more than 500 apartments across Montréal and the South Shore, from construction to management to long-term ownership.

His expertise covers long-term ownership: financing, business planning and the day-to-day operation of residential and commercial buildings. Outside the office, he co-founded the PÉR HEC program that brings refugee students to HEC Montréal, and sits on the advisory committee of Familles en affaires.

Portrait of Tania Kokolakis

Gestion Kokolakis

Tania Kokolakis

Tania is a civil engineer, trained at McGill University, and holds an MBA from HEC Montréal. She began her career at Quadrax and rose to leadership roles at QMD and Carbonleo, where she played a key role in building the Four Seasons Montréal and its private residences. She has spent more than a decade leading estimating, procurement and project management on major Montréal projects.

She then founded Gestion Kokolakis, her own real estate development and investment company. Her expertise is in building: engineering, cost control, construction and delivery, in concrete and in wood. Her work focuses on technical solutions that improve a building's sustainability, from mechanical efficiency to green roofs and electric vehicle charging.

In their own words

“My vision is to create spaces that bring together modern design, comfort and respect for the environment, while meeting the needs of the people who will live there.”
Tania Kokolakis
“I see each project as a chance to turn ideas into something real, combining innovation and durability to offer a place where people feel good.”
Kai Xiong Zhang
“I'm inspired by nature, and by the chance to create projects that have a positive impact on communities and the environment.”
Tania Kokolakis
“I'm inspired by challenges: finding practical, lasting solutions that make a real difference in the lives of the people who will use these spaces.”
Kai Xiong Zhang

Recognition and talks

Our projects

Built, rented, and still ours

ANDAS apartment in Lachine with exposed cross-laminated timber (CLT) ceiling and wood beams

Completed · 2025 · Lachine, Montréal

ANDAS

The ceiling of every apartment is exposed timber.

53 rental apartments in Lachine built entirely in mass timber (CLT), with the wood left visible in every apartment.

  • Mass timber (CLT) structure
  • 43% less carbon than in concrete
  • Exposed wood ceilings and beams
  • Rooftop terrace and urban chalet
The project andas.ca
Solaris, a nine-storey rental building in Boisbriand, at dusk

Completed · 2023 · Boisbriand

Solaris

A nine-storey rental building in Boisbriand, next to the Faubourg.

133 rental condos on the North Shore, a one-minute walk from the Faubourg Boisbriand.

  • 133 rental condos
  • Rooftop pool and spa
  • Steps from the Faubourg Boisbriand
The project solarisboisbriand.com

Have land or a building to develop?

We are reviewing new rental projects across Greater Montréal, in mass timber and in concrete, and welcome discussions with landowners, building owners and prospective joint-venture partners.

Talk to us