Condo Living

April 15, 2024 Published by Golden Horseshoe Chapter - By Gail Cote

FEATURE CONDO: Halton Condominium Corporation No. 241

From the Volume 19, Spring 2024 issue of the CCI GHC Condo News Magazine

What are the qualities and features of your Condominium?

I wanted to take a moment to let the Condo world know of a Board and site I am extremely proud of. Many of the Board members of HCC241 (Halton Condominium Corporation No. 241) have dedicated their time and energy to the Board for decades, with only one being on the Board less than 10 years, but only just under 10 years. I am lucky to have had these members for this long, and so is the community for consistency. It is rare these days to even get condo owners to join the Board, and many times rarer to keep them on the Board for any length of time. It has been an absolute pleasure in working with these individuals for all of these years.

HCC241, 2040 Cleaver Avenue, consists of 2 buildings out of a 7 building complex (4 condominium corporations) nestled in the community of Headon Forest in Burlington. Forest Chase Trust is the 7 building community name, and its true to its nature, settled in amongst large treed forest areas that surround many of the buildings, adding to a sense of being in the country while still in the City. The fall views are spectacular for those lucky enough to have a back facing unit.

The buildings are unique in that each unit on all floors exits directly to the outdoor hallways, versus indoor hallways. During the winter months this can present challenges, it is unique that all units have direct access to the outdoors via their front and back doors. Additional fresh air is only a door away, which can be a blessing in condominiums sometimes.

The Community of HCC241 and Forest Chase Trust is a very friendly one, where many owners have lived for decades, and new comers are quickly made part of the community. There are no meeting amenities on site, however you can always see a group of owners gathered in one place or another on site. 

Owners work together to keep the property looking well maintained, and assist with committees when needed, such as the various garden committees, landscape committee, etc. These committees help bring all 4 corporations points of view together for a more fulsome discussion, which helps to achieve a decision that all 4 corporations agree with. When maintenance concerns are noted the owners are quick to report them to the Manager to be addressed.

Communication with Management, the Board and owners is always ongoing, to ensure that all parties are aware of work, delays in work, coming work to be prepared, etc.

What are the accomplishments achieved by your Condominium Corporation?

HCC241 has undergone many challenges over the past few years including:

Structural Support Beam Replacement – The corporation had to replace the structural support beams at the front of both of the HCC241 buildings; the Board worked with an engineer. The owners received regular, constant ongoing communication on what to expect, where to locate cars, for how long, etc.; thus. this project went as smoothly as possible. The Board met as often as needed to ensure continuity for the project, and to make the decisions that arose during such a project in a timely and informed manner.

Registration of a Standard Unit bylaw – having been registered since 1992, we had not registered such a bylaw, as getting the 50+1% of the owners to vote on this had proven difficult. We were finally able to achieve this threshold and recently completed this task in 2023.

Up to this point, leaks had always been a scary situation as there is no certainty when a leak is the corporations versus a unit owners and no way to really determine what a standard unit was prior to this bylaw. Since this registration, we have had MANY leaks within the units that the bylaw was applied to, which saved the corporation added costs that they otherwise could have been responsible for due to lack of a Standard Unit bylaw.

Water leaks – our dry fire safety sprinkler system recently had a flow switch malfunction which resulted in a flood from the third floor down. Fast acting plumbers, fire inspection companies and off site cleaner were on site as quickly as possible to get the situation under control. Luckily the remediation costs came in just under the corporation deductible so a claim wasn’t needed.

However, we did uncover a major issue that needed to be addressed and otherwise may not have been found. Had this not been found, this problem could have been a serious concern in the event of a fire. There was a hole in the concrete slab between floors that had not been detected during testing of the pipes. This is where the water migrated out of and leaked throughout units and the outdoor hallways.

So, although a major expensive leak occurred, it was a blessing in disguise, as it uncovered a deficiency not otherwise detected in the fire safety system which could have been a larger loss in the event of a fire. We have also had many leaks from units to other units, the garage, etc. that had to be addressed as well.

Balcony guards – our site was unique when built; it was built more like the style of a condo in Florida versus a Canadian condo. The balconies and railings were all constructed from wood, which as you can imagine often rot, pickets fall out, additional painting is always required, etc. We are currently in need of replacement again and are now addressing this ongoing expensive and somewhat dangerous style of construction by installing aluminum guards instead.

Loan – to replace the guards of the balconies and walkways, a loan was required. We met with the owners to communicate the issues and vote on the implementation of the loan for the project. We had the loan provider attend the meeting to assist with explaining the exact impact of the loan, and what owners could anticipate for increases to the maintenance fees versus having a special assessment to fund this project.

With regular communication to owners we were able to achieve a large attendance of owners and many that could not attend submitted their proxies to vote. We were able to successfully pass a borrowing bylaw to help owners spread the payments over 5 years versus an immediate assessment due.

What is the overall environment like in the Condominium?

The overall environment is an extremely outgoing and friendly one. Owners meet to let their dogs play, their kids play, discuss the days events, and simply to hang out. You will always see a group of owners here or there during the better weather on site. Owners at HCC241 have a strong community approach, to ensure that fellow neighbours are aware of what is happening, reminding each other of meetings, providing important contact information for Management or contractors and processes for garbage disposal, storage, etc. for new owners. It is amazing to see the sense of community at HCC241.

The Board members have always been approachable and ready to address the issues as they are brought forth. In times of need, such as if a fire alarm goes off, the Board is available to assist, liaison with the Manager or contractor when needed. The Board takes an active interest in the site, addressing concerns as they are noted, and proactively investigating into other issues when noted at other buildings.

If a unit owner approaches a Board member, they generally receive an immediate answer (when possible) to their queries to help them expedite their inquiry. When they cannot answer them, they swiftly send the owner to the Manager for further assistance. Overall, the Board is a huge part of the Community in helping resolve any concerns. HCC241 Board is proactive in ensuring that the needs of the owners are addressed at 2040 Cleaver.

What makes residents proud to live there?

Residents are proud to live in HCC241 and Forest Chase Trust, as it is very well maintained and an extremely very friendly place to live. The multiple corporations work together to ensure that all owners are treated equally and that the buildings complement each other. The HCC241 Board really goes above and beyond to explore all options to ensure that they are taking into consideration as many owners as possible when making their decisions.

HCC241 is an active participant in the shared facility of Forest Chase Trust, to ensure that they share information and contractors which ensures that all corporations can get ahead of any particular issues, keeping them all on track financially. I cannot be prouder to manage a Corporation that works so hard to appease their owners.

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Gail Cote, RCM, OLCM-GL, has enjoyed providing professional Property Management Services to her clients since 1999. Gail has served on the Board of Directors of the CCI Golden Horseshoe Chapter Executive as Secretary, as well as Board liaison and past Chairperson for the Membership and Social Media/Marketing Committee. She is also an ongoing volunteer on the Professional Business Partners and Communication Committees. Gail has presented at numerous CCI educational events including CCI-GHC annual conferences.