Condo Living

September 10, 2025 Published by Toronto and Area Chapter - By James Russell

Condo Profile: Forest Hill North - YRCC 570

From the Summer 2025 issue of CCI Toronto Condovoice Magazine.

Devoted to Excellence: Forest Hill North

It would be difficult to find a condominium board as like-minded and committed as the Board of Forest Hill North. “We are a group of people who are devoted to the condo,” says the Board’s Vice-President Howard English.

Thornhill, home to Forest Hill North, is one of several suburban districts located in the Regional Municipality of York. Founded in 1794, Thornhill was named after Benjamin Thorne, business leader, husband and father of nine. Mr. Thorne operated a sawmill in this swath of Ontario once known as Thorne’s Mill, then Thorne’s Hill. Thornhill was finally incorporated in 1931 and has since claimed such illustrious residents as Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) of Star Wars fame, jazz and blues great Jackie Richardson, and tennis sensation Bianca Andreescu.

Although those celebrities have moved on to more distant digs, new residents are more than impressed by the good governance and exceptional sense of community that Forest Hill North has come to represent.

Completed in 1985 and comprising twohundred- and-fifty suites and sixteenf loors, Forest Hill North sits on four acres - a massive plot larger than three football fields combined. Howard says of their grounds, “It’s very big and there’s lots of room to talk to people.” Forest Hill North’s expansive and beautifully landscaped grounds surrounds residents in an oasis of calm and solitude amidst their bustling Thornhill neighbourhood. The building’s other amenities include a well-equipped gym, exercise room, outdoor pool, sauna, and tennis court.

“Not a lot of turnover,” says the Board’s Director Michael Meyer of Forest Hill North’s population. Michael adds that many new residents are young people with families moving into suites once occupied by their relatives from one or two previous generations. “And I find that really heartening” says Michael.

Forest Hill North’s strong sense of community is demonstrated by their many committees, typically a mix of residents and Board members, which include Security, Maintenance, Social, Safety, Pool, Staffing, and Window Project committees, all focused on ensuring the social and physical health of Forest Hill North. “It’s not just a whole bunch of people in units who eat there and sleep there, it really is a community,” says Howard.

Forest Hill North’s very active Social Committee and the building’s Condominium Manager Karen Rubin, organize a slate of events. In winter and during inclement weather, Forest Hill North’s year-round, twice weekly ‘Afternoon Schmooze’ takes place in their party room. When Mother Nature is more agreeable, residents gather to enjoy the company of their friends and neighbours outside. At their well-attended annual Summer BBQ, residents are treated to a great meal at no cost. Arlene Conn, the Board’s Secretary says, “We (the Social Committee and Karen) spend hours organising the event (the BBQ) - including the shopping and preparation.” The tables for the BBQ are set up in both their rear parking lot and their party room to accommodate the crowd. “Last year we had around 140 participants,” adds Arlene. Cyril Braude, the Board’s President for the past five years, serves as the event’s hot dog and hamburger chef extraordinaire.

Forest Hill North’s other annual event is their December Festival of Lights, which encompasses the entire calendar of winter holidays for all religions and ethnicities. A live band serenades the residents while they enjoy wine, cheese, desserts, giveaways and door prizes.

Less frequent but equally popular, are visits by subject matter experts and celebrities. Early this year, English literature, theatre arts teacher and Toronto author Howard Kurlandski, dropped in during his whirlwind tour of Ontario to read from his 2024 book, Who Killed Charles Dickens?

Forest Hill North’s seven-member Board currently consists of: Cyril Braude, President; Howard English, Vice- President; Ed Noy, Treasurer, Directors, Michael Meyer and Elayne Isenberg and Arlene Conn, Secretary.

Arlene was only supposed to be on the Board for a few months to fill a vacant position, but eleven years later, she’s now the Board’s longest-serving member. “I’m the grandmother here,” says Arlene, who adds. “I’ve seen a lot of Boards and a lot of Property Managers (over the years) and I must say we are very lucky. This is the top of the line that we’ve got right now. We work very well together.”

The Board meets monthly with Karen conducting the occasional e-meeting when issues require the Board’s immediate input, and at times, a vote. “Rarely, very rarely, do we have to vote on anything, and I think that consensus is so common with us because we spend a lot of time on meetings discussing so that consensus is just natural,” says Howard, who adds, “We’re very proud of the way in which we work together and the way in which we get things accomplished.”

Monitors in the elevators and lobby, email, their website, and Town Halls not only provide updates about upcoming maintenance and capital projects, but inform residents about important issues such as safety for seniors, CPR, fire safety, and tips on identifying and avoiding the myriad of scams plaguing Canadians. Howard says of the Board’s commitment to constant communication, “You cannot provide enough information about what is happening (in the building).”

Karen joined Forest Hill North in 2019 as an administrator, but the Board was so impressed by her that they quickly promoted Karen to Condominium Manager. Karen also serves as the building’s social organiser, trouble-shooter and the resident’s daily go-to source of information, advice, and, in many cases, just a friendly ear. Karen says, “We (management) believe in customer service.” Karen is also the editor and publisher of their bi-weekly Condo Community Weekly newsletter. The twopage newsletter, distributed electronically and in hard copy, contains Board and management announcements, safety tips, gym etiquette, upcoming social events and other important information.

“We should honour Karen for what she does,” says Howard who explains, “Every time something small happens like for instance, let’s say, we have to cut the water off, Karen will always be telling our residents here that the water will be cut off (on a specific day) and when it’s going to start again.” Says Arlene of Karen, “She’s always on top of everything that is going on.”

Assisting Karen is a live-in Superintendent, a Heavy-Duty Cleaner, Light Duty Cleaner and four security guards whose rotating shifts and regular patrols ensure Forest Hill North and its residents are safe and secure 24/7.

“We’ve learned a lot of things in terms of age (of the building). We learned that we need to fix things as soon as they break down, or before,” says Howard. One such project was the renovation of their spacious party room. “You could have filmed a 1980’s movie in there,” says Michael of their party room’s previous teen romance Pretty in Pink, and green colour scheme. The renovation, which Michael oversaw, took place during the pandemic and included replacing the party room’s démondé carpet. Also during the pandemic, the Board replaced their exterior, diesel backup generator with a more efficient model powered by natural gas, then directed their landscaping company to plant trees on the perimeter to give the generator’s enclosure a more pleasing look.

Past projects include renovating the corridors, ground floor entrance portal, lobby, and upgrading the party room’s kitchen. Beginning in 2018, Forest Hill North converted the entire building to LED lighting. Additionally, “We try to promote LED lighting to residents,” says Cyril. Several years ago the Board installed six EV charging stations in their outdoor visitor parking area for residents and visitors to the building. To date, only one resident has indicated they intend to install a charger in their assigned underground parking spot.

As Forest Hill North was built well before the age of the tri-sorter, residents manage with one garage room chute per floor. Plastics, paper and other recyclables go into dedicated bins on the ground floor while organic waste goes into a separate but adjacent room.

Replacing Forest Hill North’s inefficient and failing windows has been on the Board’s agenda since pre-pandemic. Unfortunately, over those years, the costs of labour and materials increased to shocking levels, requiring the Board to ‘bump up’ their reserves by a whopping four million dollars. With that funding in place, the Board expects to begin work within months.

Re-waterproofing the mechanical room, repainting the garbage room floors, and repairing their perimeter fence are also on the Board’s to-do list.

Last year, the Board hired a former police detective to conduct a safety audit of the building and grounds, looking for camera blind spots, possible points of entry, and outdated technology. The Board and management attribute Forest Hill North’s A+ grade to the care and attention they pay to the safety of their ‘home’. “We as a Board work toward looking after our asset (the building),” says Ed. “Our residents know that we (the Board) will be there when something has to be done,” adds Howard.

That level of commitment ensures Forest Hill North’s position as not only a leader in the condominium industry but a great place to live. The celebrated architect Frank Lloyd Wright once said of devotion, “I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.” The Board, management and residents understand the benefits of their devotion to Forest Hill North and the healthy community they so treasure.

---

James Russell, Newsletters et Cetera