John Tory announces electrical inspection blitz for highrises

Thestar.com
February 14, 2019
Donovan Vincent

Toronto is launching an inspection blitz targeting electrical systems in highrise buildings in the wake of serious problems being identified at three St. James Town buildings owned by the same landlord -- including one where a major fire broke out in August.

A team of officials from the city’s Municipal Licensing and Standards division, Toronto Fire Services and the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) will conduct inspections in the coming months, Mayor John Tory announced Wednesday.

“This lack of preventative maintenance is unacceptable and needs to stop,” Tory said. “There is too much safety risk involved and this can’t be the standard when it comes to the lives of hard working tenants in these buildings.”

The initiative comes after electrical system problems at 260 and 280 Wellesley St. E. and 650 Parliament St. The Parliament St. building was the scene of a fire on Aug. 21 that forced the evacuation of 1,500 residents, none of whom have yet been able to return.

Tory said the Parliament fire was related to a “catastrophic failure” of that building’s electrical system. “The failure contributed to the fire,” he said. “It’s a miracle no one was killed or injured.”

Then last month, a burst pipe at 260 Wellesley Street E. flooded the electrical room, forcing a power shutdown that left scores of residents without heat, electricity or water for several days.

Tory said an ESA inspection revealed that “major work” needed to be done to bring the building up to an acceptable standard before power could be restored.

Prompted by that finding, an inspection was ordered of the landlord’s building at 280 Wellesley St. E. That inspection found an electrical system that was in poor working order and hadn’t been maintained in “many, many years,” Tory said.

Property records show 280 and 260 Wellesley and 650 Parliament St. are owned by a variety of entities including Parwell Investments Inc. and Lilsam Inc. all listed at the same Wilson Ave. address.

Records obtained by the Star show the buildings were inspected by Municipal Licensing and Standards in 2017. The inspections covered aspects such as exterior cladding, entrances, stairwells, elevators and garbage chutes, but not electrical systems. The buildings received grades between 63 per cent and 66 per cent.

A grade of less than 50 per cent triggers a comprehensive audit of the building.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson said the property owner would fully co-operate and do the work necessary to get the buildings up to the required standards.

“What I have seen from the company in the last six months is a company that is responsive, willing to work with city officials, ESA, Toronto Fire, politicians, city staff,” said Danny Roth. “(The owners) have demonstrated a willingness to devote whatever resources are necessary to ensure the maintenance and safe operation of these properties.”

The owner is seeking to build a 51-storey condo highrise, four townhouse blocks and two midrise buildings including a 10-storey rental building -- 890 new units in all -- in the same neighbourhood.

Tory said power must be shut off to allow thorough inspection of electrical systems, meaning the blitz will cause some inconvenience and disruption for highrise tenants, “but ultimately safety must be the top priority.”

Toronto Fire Services does yearly inspections of all highrises in Toronto, but those inspections don’t necessarily include electrical systems.

Steve Smith, a general manager with the ESA, said aging buildings are a problem throughout North America. “Buildings are getting older, electrical systems are getting older,” he said.

Smith said maintaining electrical systems is largely a voluntary process for landlords, but that industry standards recommend inspections be done every two or three years.

“In hindsight, perhaps (provincial) legislation should be changed to make it mandatory to go in and do these inspections,” he said.

Jason Morgan, 32, a resident at 280 Wellesley for the past two years and member of a renters’ association for the building, said electrical system inspections should be legally required. “It’s crazy that it isn’t,” he said.

St. James Town is home to 19 highrises and about 17,000 people, said David Hulchanski, a University of Toronto professor and expert on housing and rental markets, and it houses a low-income population. About 15 per cent of residents are newcomers who came here between 2011 and 2016, compared to the 7 per cent that came to Toronto as a whole during that same period.

“It’s good this population is being housed, but the physical stock here is in serious trouble,” he said.

Aging high rises are an issue across the city, Hulchanski added. He said about half of Toronto residents are renters, and about half of that group live in aging highrise rental buildings operated by private interests.

Hulchanski believes the province and federal government need to aggressively help solve the problems of aging high rises.

“There are issues with elevator cores, plumbing, electrical systems, heating,” he said. “Toronto has so many postwar rental buildings like this.”