Downtown condo gets a smaller, quieter generator after residents complain
For the first time in almost a week, residents of a downtown condo woke up to a cleaner, quieter neighbourhood Friday after the building's developer, Brad Lamb Development Corp., replaced a noisy generator that had been belching diesel fumes.
The problem began when the building's power went down last week, forcing them to rely on the box-car sized generator to keep the lights on.
But the biggest problem, the residents told CBC Toronto earlier this week, was the lack of communication from Toronto Hydro, Hydro's contractor and Brad Lamb Development Corp.
"How long is this going to be here for?" Suze Faull, a resident of the Brant Park condo said Thursday. "I can't open my balcony door. I can't open the windows. I'm sleeping in the hallway now. I can't get through the night without earplugs."
But on Friday afternoon, Brad Lamb disputed that version of events.
He told CBC Toronto residents were warned ahead of time that power would be provided by a generator. And he blamed Toronto Hydro for problems with the building's electrical connection.
A contractor disconnected the building's hydro last weekend prior to going to work on the building's electrical ductwork, which is where the problems originated.
But some residents, and the area's city councillor, Joe Cressy, maintain no one warned the hundreds of people who live in the building near Adelaide Street and Brant Street.
The large generator was then fired up, and had been thumping away since Saturday, Cressy said Thursday.
But on Friday morning, Cressy said his staff confirmed that a smaller, quieter generator has been put in place by the Lamb Development Corp.
On Thursday, Cressy said he was upset at the way the situation had evolved: "The installation of this generator without any outreach to any residents was unacceptable, full stop," he said.
"But more than just the lack of communication, what's happened here has contravened the noise bylaw."
On its Facebook page Thursday morning, Brad Lamb Development pinned the blame for the the ductwork error on Toronto Hydro and its contractor.
By Thursday evening, those posts had been removed.
Lamb contacted CBC Toronto on Friday afternoon and reiterated his belief that the original problem with the electrical connection was Toronto Hydro's fault. He also said residents were given advance notice that a generator would be providing the building's power for now.
Toronto Hydro spokesperson Brian Buchan said it's up to the developer to ensure that electrical ductwork is properly placed.
"We wouldn't want to get into mudslinging because we're more concerned with getting this done quickly and making sure the community has power in the most expedient manner possible," he said.
