650 Parliament residents’ return imminent
Reoccupancy will begin in early March, says highrise management
News of the upcoming return to 650 Parliament St. sparked “a real feeling of excitement” for longtime resident Rebecca Gondos.
“Right off the bat, you get that little rush of adrenalin when you read the notice that we’re going back home,” said Gondos, one of nearly 1,500 residents who have been scattered around the city for nearly a year and a half since a six-alarm fire forced them to vacate the St. James Town building.
“It’s a long time coming. I’ll completely believe it when I’m finally through my door with all my stuff and we can finally start putting our lives back together.”
After a lengthy process of restoration work and multiple cancellations of proposed return dates, the Wellesley-Parliament Square property management announced Friday that building reoccupancy will be underway starting March 2. “Welcome back,” management wrote in a note posted on its website, accompanied by a two month-long schedule that residents will abide by in the process of returning to their respective units.
The schedule will allow the return of two floors per week, starting with people living in upper units from penthouse (23rd floor) all the way down. The last returnees will be those living on the second and ground floors, who are slated to get home between May 11 and 17.
That protocol has been established based on advice from the construction teams and the city’s plan with regards to final inspections, said management spokesperson Danny Roth.
Management also wanted to give residents enough time to give notices and make moving arrangements at the places where they have been living during the displacement period, he said.
In addition, there are physical limitations to be considered when hundreds of people are moving back into a building, such as the use of elevators, and the availability of staff and security to assist in the process.
“There is no perfect system in this case. We have tried to be as fair as we could, which is why we have delayed rent payments,” he said, explaining that residents will be required to resume paying rent on the first day of the following month after they move in.
“Some of them will get nearly a month free of rent, while some of them will just be there for two days and then start paying rent. There’s just no other way around it.”
Roth said the overall restoration work was a function of how much damage the fire had caused in each unit, and it’s a full range. Some units have been just repainted due to smoke damage, while others have had bathrooms, kitchens, doors or lighting replaced.
The priority was rebuilding the electrical and plumbing systems, as well as work in the basement, laundry facilities, corridors and hallways.
“There was damage from the sub-basement to the penthouse and it varied depending on how close the units were to the actual intensity of the heat and the smoke,” Roth said.
“There are some things that haven’t changed, but really what people should know is that all the safety systems have been replaced, and they are coming back to a very modern, very safe building.”
Preliminary evaluations put the cost of repair work between $60 million and $70 million, with money spent to assist residents estimated at $15 million, Roth added.
“I am happy it’s finally coming to an end,” said Mark Slapinski, another displaced resident whose unit is on the 21st floor.
Slapinski, who has run the social media accounts created in the aftermath of the fire to help organize and inform displaced residents, said he has heard a lot of sad stories from fellow residents who have been struggling to find accommodations.
Many, especially the senior residents, “had trouble coping with being away from home for such a long time, and now they are relieved,” he said. “But at this point, they really just want to go home.”
Among the many concerns is the time window that will be given to each moving individual or family. Management says every return reservation must be booked ahead of time, and can only consist of three hours on the return date (8-11 a.m.; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; 2-5 p.m. or 5-8 p.m.).
That arrangement doesn’t fit well with residents like Gondos and her husband, who have moved all their belongings into a warehouse and will “definitely” need more than three hours to finish moving back, she said.
“Three hours is ridiculous,” said Gondos, who has been diagnosed with two types of cancer and has had multiple surgeries during the displacement time. “This is moving an entire home’s worth of contents. We’re talking about a hundred packed boxes, large pieces of antique furniture bed frames, art works, televisions, it’s a lot of things we’ve been collecting for the past 16 years.”
In a statement issued shortly after the return announcement, area councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam said it was a relief to know of the reoccupancy plan after a long time of “uncertainty and growing frustration.”
“Although I extend my thanks to the landlord for completing their work, I will continue to hold the landlord and the property management company responsible to ensure that the move-in process is efficient, timely and well communicated,” she said.