Many Unhappy Returns: Residents At 2 Secord May Be Allowed Back Over Weekend
Posted August 28, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
They’ve been crashing on couches, sleeping in hotel rooms, and living out of their suitcases for six long weeks, but residents of 2 Secord Avenue are finally going home.
Or so they’ve been told.
The company that owns the apartment complex, the Preston Group, says the building is safe and ready for re-occupancy, but the City wants to take one more look at the premises, and in the end, they’ll have the final say.
City inspectors will be on-site Friday conducting final inspections to determine if occupancy will be permitted.
More than 1,000 people were ousted from their homes after a hydro vault explosion on July 20th. Luckily no one was hurt. Their collective plight became somewhat overshadowed after the ferocious Sunrise Propane explosion, but on Thursday they were back in the news.
“We are able to announce the re-occupancy of 2 Secord,” proclaimed Danny Roth, spokesperson for the Preston Group.
Structural damage made the building unsafe for return, but all the necessary repairs have been made and Preston claims the building is safe.
“Residents in the building who live in units with odd numbers, so those are 1, 3, 5, are invited to return on Saturday, August 30th,” Roth adds. “Residents in the even numbered units, 2, 4, 6 will have an opportunity to reoccupy on Sunday.” ( See full schedule below.)
The property managers have arranged for an all-day barbecue for tenants and each unit will get a $100 grocery card to help restock their shelves, along with a complete cleaning kit.
They are also planning on giving tenants a rent break. According to Roth, returning residents will only be charged rent from Sept. 15th onward, even though they will likely return this weekend.
Some, however, say they’re too traumatized after the explosion to move back into the building and they’re angry at the property managers, who they say promised them that they would be able to break their leases.
Many were also victimized by heartless thieves, who broke into their empty apartments.
“You guys have lied. You guys have lied,” one angry resident said, interrupting the press conference announcing the plans for re-occupancy.
“We’ve been traumatized and hurt because of this. We were lied to by Preston. They told us that we could break our leases without penalty, that there would be no fault of our own if we were to leave, and that was said in front of (Councillor) Janet Davis, in front of the fire marshal, in front of the police chief. And then a week later we were told, ‘You have to give us 60 days notice or we’ll be taking you to court.’ That’s not acceptable.”
Here’s the sequence of when the residents will be allowed back inside.
Odd Number Units: Saturday, August 30th
Even Numbered Units: Sunday, August 31st
Floors 19-23: 10am-12pm
Floors 12-18: 12pm-2pm
Floors 6-11: 2pm-4pm
Floors 1-5: 4pm-6pm
