NEWS

Tenants and owner present settlement to OMB

A settlement has been reached between the Tenants Association of 33 Holly St. and 44 Dunfield Ave. and property owner Compton Management — and the tenants are calling it a win.

“Over all this entire process, we have gained a huge victory, regardless of the fact that the buildings are still going up,” said Rocco Marttucci, a member of the Tenants Association. “It is more in line with what our needs are,”

The original plan was to build two high-rise condos, 24 storeys (Holly Street) and 32 storeys (Dunfield Avenue) next to the already existing 14-storey residential buildings. Along with adding five additional storeys to the current residential sites, which would only be accessible to the condo owners. Also proposed was the construction of a eight-storey building on Soudan Ave.

That settlement presented to the OMB on March 21 looked very different. Both five-storey add-ons were scratched along with the six-storey building on Soudan Ave, which will now be a park. The two highrises will still be built and with a couple extra storeys: the Holly site was raised three storeys to 27 and Dunfield by two to 34.

Aside from construction plans, the OMB and everything that came with that, the Tenants Association and property owner worked out an agreement, which gives tenants with multiple compensation options. Mattucci says he believes the agreement is a fair one.

“The power is now with the tenants. The option has to be selected in the first three months, whether they are looking to leave with a moving allowance, take the rate abatement package or choose to get a price reduction on a condo unit.” Mattucci says.

Tenants can break their lease on 30 days if the noise is too much for them and they will receive a $1,500 moving allowance. The rent reduction is somewhat complex, but basically tenants will receive a 15–50 percent reduction of their rent depending where they are in the building and how effected they are by the construction. Unit renovations are also an option. Tenants can choose to have a new kitchen and bathroom installed and finally, the owner has offered a reduced price on condo sales to tenants.

“We didn’t get everything we wanted and I guarantee [the owner] got a couple of surprises he wasn’t prepared for, but as a whole we are much better off,” Mattucci said.