Rooftop Patio Project
At our last Annual General Meeting and through our owner’s committee, the York Region Condominium Corporation 878 Board of Directors committed to the owners that we would explore how we could revitalize our rooftop patios.
In order for us to continue this process, we need input from you the owner and the Patio Revitalization Survey is now live. Please take a few minutes of your time to complete the survey and to give us your thoughts on this important community event.
Regards,
YRCC878 Board of Directors
Hi Mila,
First, I thank you for your thoughts and suggestions. Having feedback from the owners is exactly why the board decided to post this survey. The history of our corporation teach us that prior to making our decision the owners opinion should be heard.
The discussion about the common patio use is not new, it was mention at our last AGM and at the owners meeting on September 29, 2014 and our Reserve Fund Study projected the expenses for such project. However, we as a board made a decision to hold with project implementation until the owners voice their opinion.
Again, we value your feedback.
Sasha
Good Morning,
By now I am on the second cup of coffee and enjoying the website, thank you to the Board for this conduit.
I am a new owner and I must express that this is my second condo home and I would like to comment about the Patio.
I feel that there is a good way to manage it, some of it by volunteers which costs us nothing, but adds to the enjoyment of all. I like the idea of at least having it open, for people to go there, as Mila says with their own chair. That is a great idea anyway because if there is patio furniture up there, it is often being used, from my experience.
The BBQ is a great idea but it requires a cleaning schedule and a sign in sign out time, usually 1 hour at a time and you have use of a table for that hour. The sign in could be a button on the website too so that we all know who is using it.
Plants should be of the indiginous perennial type which require little care, I hope there is water outlet on the patio? There might be a small budget for some annual splash of colour, handled by the groundskeeper contract? Augmented by Patio Committee Volunteers. I love flowers and plants and I can share some plant clippings and don’t mind watering at all….we could have a nice green space up there. I am sure there are owners who know people with perennial gardens who are more than willing to give us clippings to start off with. My former landlady is always trimming back her plants!
I feel that the Amenities are not advertised enough, when I purchased this condo I did not know there was a Patio. I did not know there were bike racks or where to find them. I didn’t know there were keys to the gate to the park…..all of these things add value to the property and raises the value of each of our units. We should be happy that we can upgrade the public status of the propery in the neighbourhood, so that new owners will buy here and join us, instead of the ivory towers up the street LOL :)))
well, it looks like the coffee is working ……I am Pro Patio :))
Bye 4 now
Heather,
Welcome to our neighbourhood!
Regarding bicycle rack…There is one outside, on ground level, on west side of the building D. It is available on first come first serve bases, so if you live in my building you are more than welcome to use.
Love your optimism and willingness to volunteer. Definitively we need more people like you. Who knows, I might go pro patio too….cheers…☀️
My wife and I moved into this building 4 years ago with the impression there was a shared open air patio. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed to find out that it was closed and inaccessible to tenants.
It would be amazing to have access to this type of space in order to be able to BBQ some food on those nice summer evenings.
I really welcome the idea of having a patio and I agree the added amenity would never hurt the resale value of our properties. I believe a lot of other condo property offer this type of amenity and nothing beats a grilled steak on a beautiful summer evening.
I am also pro patio.
Hi Milla,
We totally agree. Corporation should not spend money for rooftop patio at all.
We are living in the condo 12 years and never ever used rooftop patio.
Thank you,
Igor and Tatyana Kogay
Unit B310 and B311
i totally agree, I am against any patio renovations
Hello fellow neighbors, welcome new residents!
I have been quite excited about this initiative for a while now. We have a spacious unit in building B, however, only a small Juliette balcony that I can barely fit my two feet on. The idea of having a space to sit out on (read a book with a glass of wine), on those warm summer nights once the kids are asleep, sounds great to me.
The privacy feature of the patio (versus sitting out in the public walking gardens out back) is definitely a bonus. Hosting a summer BBQ for family and friends, or a BBQ/pot luck to meet some new neighbors would also be great.
In terms of cost, we really don’t have to spend a whole lot to create a decent space. A table and a few plastic chairs to sit on should be a good start. A simple BBQ would be nice….and some economic gardening (as suggested above) is also a way to save money. I would gladly contribute some flowers myself from my Mother’s garden. I am sure we could also find a few volunteers to water the flowers and greenery throughout the spring/summer (perhaps set up a rotating schedule).
Thank you to the Board for working on this and involving the owners.
Keep us posted!
Linda
Hi Mila:
We understand that there are several units with a yard and the inherant right to BBQ there and that having a public BBQ must seem redundant to you.
However, there are many more of us who are jealous that you have that amentiy and that we have not. Well maybe jealous is a strong word….
How many of you have gone for a walk on a Saturday to research the neighbouring condos that are sprouting up? This is how you can see and compare where we stand in the real estate offerings in the community.
The PATIO is a desireable amenity for many prospective owners and without it we lose competitivley in the real estate market. Not only is this our Home, but eventually we will all sell our units and the more desireable we upgrade it and maintain it, the better profits we will see. $$$
We all know what happened to the DoDo Bird, some of you have never heard of it because it is extinct. LOL
Cheers and here’s looking forward to lively discussion.
Heather
Hi Neighbors
I too have to agree with Mila, I think we are going to create a whole new world of problems by opening the rooftop patio, and our money would be better off spent elsewhere.
Never was this space intended for community bbqing. We have a problem with people who refuse to take their garbage and recycling to the large bins in the garbage area outside. These are the same people who will clean a common patio area?
How will security be conducted?
Who will monitor the propane usage?
A major concern would be insurance, especially if people are consuming alcohol.
Too many problems to mention.
I do however feel that if the corporation is to move ahead with this project the patio area should be treated in the same manner as a party room. There would be a fee to rent the space and a security deposit in case of damages.
When buying a condo everyone knows there are limitations (like not being able to bbq).
Thank you to the board, this is a great tool to discuss community matters.
Elaine
Dear All,
I agree that there are a lot of questions that may arise in the process of implementing the patio project to its full extent (with furniture, BBQ, plants, etc.)
But if the building was initially projected to have a rooftop space, the unit owners like myself with just a small Juliette in the bedroom should receive an opportunity to access that space.
And in the light of all the other issues we are currently experiencing (Shared Facility Reserved funding, potential maintenance increases, etc.) we could leave this space as is but available for the unit owners who wish to use it in summer time (at least for this coming summer-early fall season). We can try with the described below option to see the demand this year and then decide if there is need to go further with revitalizing rooftop patios.
Proposal for rules and regulations on rooftop usage (minimum efforts and expenses option):
1. Only the owners may request the access to the facility
2. Signing up before using the patio is a must (to be determined where and how; who will hold the keys)
3. Each owner using the patio is responsible to bring in their own chairs and take them back on the day of use
4. Each owner using the patio is responsible for cleaning up any garbage on the day of use
5. Individual owner’s portable BBQs or stoves may be used at the full responsibility of the user.
Thank you.
Yelena
Hello
I am sorry I am replying to this email after the meeting has happened as I have been out of town and have not had a chance to open any emails. Unfortunately all the meetings are scheduled when I have to work so I haven’t been able to attend any.
First, as owner of a penthouse unit that borders on the rooftop patio, I believe my privacy and security will be compromised .
Also, the house keeping of patio, no matter how thorough it may be, will result in refuse and garbage filtering into my terrace. I have first hand experience because I am constantly getting cigarette butts in my terrace and I am a non-smoker.
Second, the rooftop patio has been used previously by owners for social gatherings and has always resulted in noise isssues and garbage issues and security issues.
I am sure fellow owners can appreciate these issues and would feel the same if there units bordered on the patio.
For these reasons, I do not support the patio rejuvenation . My opinion may be belated and late getting to you as I have been preoccupied with other issues
There is a fire code issue, that no propane tanl can be transported by elevator within the building. The BBQ(s) would have to be gas fed.
I’m totally agree that we are not supposed to spend money from our budget for roof patio project because it’s useless.in another fact we didn’t have this project in our budget for 2014-2015 year.
I agree
Hello all,
I too am pro patio. Like many others, I only have a Juliette style balcony and would adore having real outside space for personal use with my family and friends or the community.
If we think this process through thoroughly, I do not foresee many issues. Everyone should clean up after themselves and this should be easily monitored with the log in/out sheet (which we could make available to all owners).
I was never aware of the fact that our building has a rooftop patio nor have I ever seen it but is it not accessible via stairs? If it is, could the propane tank not be carried up?
I agree that if the building was designed with the rooftop patio, then we should utilize all of the few amenities which we have.
Also, as Sasha had mentioned “our Reserve Fund Study projected the expenses for such project”.
Aryna
I am totally against the patio rejuvenation and here are my reasons
First, as owner of a penthouse unit that borders on the rooftop patio, I believe my privacy and security will be compromised .
Also, the house keeping of patio, no matter how thorough it may be, will result in refuse and garbage filtering into my terrace. I have first hand experience because I am constantly getting cigarette butts in my terrace and I am a non-smoker.
Second, the rooftop patio has been used previously by owners for social gatherings and has always resulted in noise isssues and garbage issues and security issues.
I am sure fellow owners can appreciate these issues and would feel the same if there units bordered on the patio.
For these reasons, I do not support the patio rejuvenation . My opinion may be belated and late getting to you as I have been preoccupied with other issues
Another concern, is damage to private property. As the patio borders onto 2 other condos, who is responsible if any damage is done to private property bordering on the patio, if this should unfortunatley occur? Does the condo insurance cover this?
another issue regarding the Patio rejuvenation, this is a comment to all Penthouse owners who will be affected by this. DO YOU REALLY WANT OR NEED THE ADDED TRAFFIC ON THE PENTHOUSE FLOOR, AGAIN THIS COMES DOWN TO A SECURITY AND PRIVACY ISSUE.
FOR THOSE OWNERS LIVING ON THE LOWER FLOORS, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IF ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE IS INCREASED TRAFFIC OF PEOPLE WALKING UP AND DOWN YOUR CORRIDOR, CARRYING BARBECUES, ALCOHOL, PROPANE TANKS, PEAKING INTO YOUR UNIT. YOUR PRIVACY WILL BE COMPROMISED
Weren’t we going to try and renovate the building lobbies first? That’s probably much more important ( and will raise the appearance of our condo to look more like a condo than an apartment building )than spending money on a patio that will constantly have to be maintained.
And honestly, everyone who has bought a condo here, knew well in advance that there is no patio or those with Juliette balconies (myself included) knew what we signed up for so let’s not cry about not having a patio or a decent balcony where you could go and enjoy your wine.
And lastly, there be better an actual documented vote on this issue before the board of directors jumps on implementing something that may not be welcomed by a majority