100 spadina road

This blog is from a person who lived at 100 Spadina Road:At first glance, 100 Spadina Road is nestled within a very friendly and affluent area within downtown Toronto. The surrounding community known as the Annex, used to be comprised of Artists, Writers, Musicians and very Liberal minded people. Its laid back attitude and close approximation to the centre core of Toronto, makes this location an ideal place to rent an apartment.As with all things being idyllic, there is a silver lining, and that would be the management company that operates the building on behalf of HANFROW HOLDINGS. Park Property Management rate themselves as one of Toronto's best property management firms, according to their website. They appear to be friendly and couteous upon inquiring about a unit and maintain their composure all the way through to the signing of the rental contract. They do fulfill their promise to provide you with a freshly painted and somewhat renovated unit, but it is the follow up and ammenities promised that fail to hit their mark. Security is a major issue in any urban city and at 100 Spadina Road, there is no concierge or on-site security guard for the premises. There are a few cameras which record single frame images at the lobby elevator and down in the basement to the laundry facility and car park, which has been made much smaller due to the construction of a new building. More to come... With several apartment break-ins within a single year, the management team decided to have a roaming security guard after midnight til 8 am for a period of time. Most break-ins occur during the day??? The second issue of concern is the construction site that will be taking place to the rear and side of the building. It seems that the building has a successful occupancy rating due to its close approximation to the University of Toronto and as mentioned previously, its core location. So Hanfrow Holdings has decided to erect a 70 unit building to the rear of 100 Spadina Road and town homes to the side of the current building. The local community protested to the city for several years when the application was first submitted and there has been media attention to the area with concerns that condo development has become a virus and/or cancer to the once green and lush region. Concerns by the tenants of 100 Spadina Road regarding promised improvements to the building made some 5 years ago also fall on deaf ears. Slow response time to unit repairs were also the norm and then there is the famous elevator ( lift ). Depending on its mood, "ele" will either take you where you want to go, or where he/she wants you to go. Case-in-point, you press the 1970's style button which has no indicator whether it is actually working, and eventually the elevator arrives. You are on the 6th floor and you want to go to the lobby or ground floor. Suddenly, "ele" decides that you are going up to the heavens, which in this case means the 23 floor. Then you will slowly make your way down whilst picking up passengers who undoubtedly had the same plan as yourself to go to the lobby some 3-6 minutes previous. At first, you laugh and think it is cute. But when it happens to you a second, third, fourth and who keeps count after 20 times, over a couple of years, it becomes an annoyance. Upon inquiry to Park Property, they are well aware of ALL issues and as with all things that require their attention, you are advised to submit a complaint document., which once again falls upon deaf ears.There are many more stories one can tell, but to save time, my advice to anyone thinking about renting a apartment unit at 100 Spadina Road is to do your due diligence. Talk to a few tenants. Look at the exterior of the property, which is not too inviting and will only deteriorate as the next phase of construction begins in 2009. Look for similar blogs or reviews regarding the building. And more importantly, always review the management company website. You can tell alot by the way a company represents itself.My experience at 100 Spadina Road was far from terrible. The management team were in my view, far from professional and usually quite dismissive in their attitude. Regardless, your monthly rent is money hard earned and you deserve to be treated and respected with appreciation as opposed to being just another number in a management companies spreadsheet. My advice would be to look elsewhere in the neighbourhood as there are some really nice buildings with supers and management teams that truly appreciate and value your business.