Writing a thesis is hard enough. What if you had to do it with the sound of jackhammers in the background? Or in a cold room with cockroaches? Alex Hertel, as well as many other residents of 30 and 35 Charles St., faces this every day.
The idea behind student family housing is to make it easier for students with partners, spouses or children to finish their degree by offering them below-market level rent. The sentiment of many residents is not one of gratitude, though, but rather of frustration.
For the past two years, property management company Greenwin has been responsible for managing the premises. As of Dec. 31, 2003, its contract expired. U of T has now chosen to manage the buildings themselves. The switch was made for financial reasons and to increase U of T’s level of involvement.
“The maintenance of the building isn’t what we wanted it to be…when you don’t see everything everyday you have less control,” said Anne MacDonald, director of Ancillary Services, a department at U of T which helps to manage the buildings.
Darryl Gershater, a member of the Tenants’ Association, is also positive about the change. “I hope it will be better because we eliminate a third party…So hopefully it’ll be more direct and more accountable.”
Residents like Poonam Chanba look forward to avoiding situations like she faced with Greenwin last September. Her family could not afford house insurance so when her toilet unexpectedly overflowed, she asked Greenwin for compensation. Staff agreed, yet when a letter dated Nov. 21 arrived, it stated that nothing would be done for her.
“I can’t understand why people lie like this,” said Chanba. “Why did she promise it [the letter]? My question is why did it take two months to deliver that letter?”
Gershater echoed her frustration. “We as a tenant’s association were not satisfied with the quality, at all, of Greenwin. We didn’t like the way which they were treating tenants.”
Greenwin may be gone, but U of T will still have to contend with a number of problems that have been plaguing the buildings. The jackhammering is from construction in a parking lot in the building. Although university staff are sympathetic, nothing can be done. “This work was necessary, unfortunately noisy and not work the university had control over,” said director of family housing, Pearl Karimalis.
Cockroaches are another problem. Although pest control treatments are regularly applied, Gershater believes that the problem may stem from poor maintenance. A tour of the building revealed dirty hallway floors, a garbage chute that needed to be cleaned and an untidy and noxious garbage room.
Security is another area where tenants see room for improvement. The buildings use a buzzer system and there is one security guard for both buildings. Homeless people can often be found sleeping in stairwells, and residents worry about intruders.
“Basically it’s very, very easy access into the buildings which I think is a problem because we have a lot of children in these buildings,” said Gershater.
MacDonald responded that the university is currently changing its security company and looking to raise awareness among tenants about letting in strangers. New gates are also being installed.
Heating in the buildings is also a concern. Individual floors may be either very hot or cold. Windows in apartments are only covered with a single pane of glass, which lets in the cold during the winter months.
“I suppose it’s a little bit cold but they offset that by jacking the temperature on our floor up incredibly high,” said Hertel, a graduate student in computer science. “So especially in our hallway it’s ridiculously hot, it’s sort of like a tropical country.”
U of T staff are more than aware of the need for double-paned glass, but cost is an issue. MacDonald says new glass is a priority but with a price tag of $2.6 million, it could be a while before any such project is approved.
What is underway is the construction of a new rooftop terrace at 30 Charles St.
With a price tag of $300,000, Hertel and Gershater aren’t impressed. They feel that the money should have gone towards more essential projects such as new glass or getting rid of the roaches. Gershater also felt that the university pushed the Tenant’s Association to approve the project.
Karimalis doesn’t feel that most residents have this attitude. “…the rooftop garden…has been a project tenants and past Tenants’ Association executive members have been involved with for at least the past two years in terms of design and fund-raising.”
This endeavour is an attempt to build a sense of community among student families, one which Gershater finds lacking. “I think for a lot people it’s a very isolating experience,” said Gershater. “These are very big, high-rise buildings.”
U of T has attempted to combat isolation through the work of the community development coordinator by organizing social events and displaying resource information.
“It’s early still, but I think that we can make some positive changes,” said MacDonald. “With a positive attitude, I think we can improve.”
Greenwin did not return the Varsity’s phone calls.
