Since the summer began, residents of a Downsview condominium have been struggling to find ways to stay cool after their building’s air conditioner broke down and has remained unfixed.
Barrington Thomas, who purchased a unit in the 2737 Keele St. building more than seven years ago, told TorontoToday the loss of air conditioning is the worst thing he’s ever experienced at the property, adding that the heat is aggravating his asthma.
“I can’t even breathe,” he said.
To try to cope, Thomas and his wife have been forced to sleep on the couches in their living room to be closer to a small window-mounted air conditioner, he said.
Still, it helps little. When TorontoToday visited Thomas’ unit on Monday, the living room thermostat read 32 C. Thomas said his wife frequently wakes up with headaches.
The couple is far from the only ones struggling.
Since the beginning of the summer, which has been marked by multiple heat waves, several 2737 Keele St. condo owners told TorontoToday a number of residents have had to go to the hospital as a result of the extreme heat in their units.
Who’s to blame?
On Monday, treasurer of the condo board Mary Howell empathized with fellow owners about the ongoing issue, but said the board and property management company are on top of it.
Several weeks ago, the condo board hired Reliable Mechanical Services Inc., an air conditioning repair firm, to fix the broken system. The company’s staff have been coming daily since to work on it, she said.
But seated outside the condo building to benefit from Monday’s breeze, 73-year-old unit owner Tony Cina said he can’t understand why it’s taking so long, adding that the air conditioner issue first began last August.
He said he’s inquired with the property manager but has yet to get a straight answer.
In an interview with TorontoToday, Nick, an HVAC technician with Reliable Mechanical Services said there are “multiple problems” with the building’s chiller, a central component of the air conditioning system, which the company has been trying to remedy.
“It has been neglected for many years, so we’re doing our best to correct it for the customer,” said the technician, who gave only his first name.
Are the problems ‘inherited’ from the previous board?
Howell said she and board president Jacqueline Anderson joined the board only recently. The air conditioning issue and several other maintenance problems predate them, she said.
A City of Toronto spokesperson said the municipality has received nine service requests relating to concerns from the building’s residents about the air conditioning.
“We understand that condominium management are aware of the issue and [are] actively working to restore the air conditioning,” said the city spokesperson.
The spokesperson clarified the municipal code requires that if air-conditioning is provided by the property owner, it must be operated between June 1 to Sept. 30, maintaining a maximum temperature of no more than 26°C.
Anderson said it’s unfortunate the repair is taking so long but said she’s optimistic the job will be done within the next few days. The repair technician was similarly upbeat. “We’re hoping real, real soon,” he said.
Yet residents like Thomas are dubious. He said he’s been hearing that the fix is nearly complete since the first week the company began its work in June.
“You just can’t believe nothing now that they said,” Thomas said of the board’s reassurances.
TorontoToday contacted the property management company to ask about the timeline for the solution and the alleged neglected maintenance but did not receive a response back by publication deadline.
A nightmare for condo owners
Thomas said the situation is particularly frustrating, given he and his wife purchased their unit trying to make their lives simpler.
The couple have a house in the Caribbean where they spent time in the winter. To reduce their maintenance load, Thomas said they sold their Toronto home and downsized to the Keele Street condo.
But that decision hasn’t felt so good this summer. Despite the ongoing air conditioning challenge, the couple is still paying about $1,000 per month in building maintenance fees, he said.
Cina agreed the situation is very difficult for young and old residents alike in the building.
“Friends become enemies,” he said. “It’s the heat.”
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CORRECTION: A prior version of this story stated that the condo’s property management company hired the air conditioning repair company. In fact, it’s the condo board that hired the repair company.
