(Eaton) Lofts at 276

[tomh009]

While there's space next to the stairs for a small lift, I think the bigger issue the entrance from King St. There's a single step up from King St, looks to be a historical feature of the building. It may not get fixed as a part of this reno.

I think a step is required because the floor of the building is higher than the sidewalk, and neither of those is easy to change.

But I doubt that step is more than 10 cm, probably even less, so a ramp should be feasible to address that. I do believe the extent of the renovations mandates implementing barrier-free access in this case.

[ijmorlan]

While there's space next to the stairs for a small lift, I think the bigger issue the entrance from King St. There's a single step up from King St, looks to be a historical feature of the building. It may not get fixed as a part of this reno.

So is the photo taken at the back? I’m not very familiar with the building.

In any case, there is no excuse for single-step barriers to remain after a major renovation of this nature. I would certainly hope that it is an AODA violation (of the “you don’t open until it’s fixed” variety) to leave a single-step barrier in place.

[tomh009]

While there's space next to the stairs for a small lift, I think the bigger issue the entrance from King St. There's a single step up from King St, looks to be a historical feature of the building. It may not get fixed as a part of this reno.

So is the photo taken at the back? I’m not very familiar with the building.

In any case, there is no excuse for single-step barriers to remain after a major renovation of this nature. I would certainly hope that it is an AODA violation (of the “you don’t open until it’s fixed” variety) to leave a single-step barrier in place.

Ontario Building Code, no need for AODA specifically. And I do expect they will need to do something, probably a small ramp. But the step is outside the unit, renovations are on the inside, and there are limited options what can be done. (And the photo is inside the unit, facing King St W.)

[taylortbb]

So is the photo taken at the back? I’m not very familiar with the building.

In any case, there is no excuse for single-step barriers to remain after a major renovation of this nature. I would certainly hope that it is an AODA violation (of the “you don’t open until it’s fixed” variety) to leave a single-step barrier in place.

Here's a streetview photo of the building from King St, showing the single step up to the covered area. I took the photo standing on the covered area, looking through the door.

   

The area inside the door is easy to add a lift, but the exterior renovation was done by Perimeter a couple years ago and they kept the single step.

[Bytor]

Tangentially, does anybody know what the condo fees are in the Eaton Lofts these days? Location-wise it would be an awesome place to live, but after all those many problems from the start, they must be huge. (I assume all the problems are fixed now, after all these years?)

[taylortbb]

Tangentially, does anybody know what the condo fees are in the Eaton Lofts these days? Location-wise it would be an awesome place to live, but after all those many problems from the start, they must be huge. (I assume all the problems are fixed now, after all these years?)

Listings on Realtor.ca include the condo fees. I've seen some for this building before, and while they were high the units were cheap enough that I felt it balanced out okay. Doesn't look like there's any units currently for sale though. A realtor would be able to pull up past listings and see the condos fees though.

[tomh009]

Tangentially, does anybody know what the condo fees are in the Eaton Lofts these days? Location-wise it would be an awesome place to live, but after all those many problems from the start, they must be huge. (I assume all the problems are fixed now, after all these years?)

Listings on Realtor.ca include the condo fees. I've seen some for this building before, and while they were high the units were cheap enough that I felt it balanced out okay. Doesn't look like there's any units currently for sale though. A realtor would be able to pull up past listings and see the condos fees though.

That's really it. They will have relatively high condo fees to deal with the deficit in the reserve account but the low purchase price may make up for that. If you are interested in a unit (once one comes up for sale) your realtor can request the condo financials (including the reserve fund study!) and you will be able to see what the financial outlook will be.

[ijmorlan]

The area inside the door is easy to add a lift, but the exterior renovation was done by Perimeter a couple years ago and they kept the single step.

Thanks for the photo. This is disappointing. I can’t see any excuse for keeping a step of that amount.

[tomh009]

The area inside the door is easy to add a lift, but the exterior renovation was done by Perimeter a couple years ago and they kept the single step.

Thanks for the photo. This is disappointing. I can’t see any excuse for keeping a step of that amount.

The regulations are here. Pages 319-320 are of the most interest.
https://docs.ontario.ca/documents/4845/g...nglish.pdf

The ramp must have a slope of no more than 1:15, so if we assume a 60 mm step height, that means a ramp length of 900 mm. At the top you need to provide a landing of 1670 x 1670 mm, so the distance from the bottom of the ramp to the far side of the landing would need to be 2.6m -- that would pretty take the bottom of the ramp almost all the way to the curb -- and block sidewalk accessibility in the process.

Or they would need to take apart the entrance, move the doors back and then move the stairs further back.

I don't know whether it would have been possible reduce the height of the floor by 60 mm (or whatever the height of the step is), but if there is a basement below, that likely wouldn't be an option, either.

Now, the regulations apply only to employers with 50 or more employees. I suspect Marcheleo's will have less than that, so they might be exempt from these regulations.

[ijmorlan]

Thanks for the photo. This is disappointing. I can’t see any excuse for keeping a step of that amount.

The regulations are here. Pages 319-320 are of the most interest.
https://docs.ontario.ca/documents/4845/g...nglish.pdf

The ramp must have a slope of no more than 1:15, so if we assume a 60 mm step height, that means a ramp length of 900 mm. At the top you need to provide a landing of 1670 x 1670 mm, so the distance from the bottom of the ramp to the far side of the landing would need to be 2.6m -- that would pretty take the bottom of the ramp almost all the way to the curb -- and block sidewalk accessibility in the process.

My preference would be to regrade the sidewalk. Not install a ramp on the sidewalk, but just regrade the entire sidewalk in the area so that it happens to match up. Obviously this should be done when the sidewalk is replaced, not when the building happens to be renovated.

Failing that, yes, I would say that adjusting the floor height is the way to go. If that requires cutting a support member then it could be unrealistic, but otherwise in a building of that size adjusting a tiny piece of floor near the door should be doable.

Bottom line, if we let 6cm barriers continue to exist, then we aren’t actually an accommodating and accessible society, regardless of what we pretend. It’s simply not believable that the problem isn’t solvable.

[tomh009]

I'm not a structural engineer, nor do I know how the floor is constructed, so I don't know what the complexity or cost of regrading the floor would be. But, for sure, it's not a small thing that could be fixed for a few thousand dollars. Having to redo the doors (if the floor is lowered) will ensure that it's $20K minimum, but it could be $50K or $100K (or more) once you address the structural aspects.

[taylortbb]

They now have a coming soon sign up. Oddly enough, it's branded Marche Leo's Market, which aside from the obnoxious double market for anyone that speaks French, is very confusing for whether it's related to the previously discussed Marcheleo's Marketplace. The building permit is definitely for "Marcheleo's Marketplace", without the space. There does seem to be a "Marche Leo's Market" in downtown Toronto, with the same logo, but I can't find any website with that logo. The Google Maps website link for the downtown Toronto store goes to the website for Marcheleo's Marketplace, but the "About Us" link on that website doesn't mention downtown Toronto or Kitchener.

Instagram adds to the mystery, with https://www.instagram.com/marcheleos1/ having the logo for Marcheleo's Marketplace, while https://www.instagram.com/marcheleos/ has the logo for Marche Leo's Market. The marchleos1 account is much older than the marcheleos account, which makes me think they may be trying to re-brand from Marcheleo's Marketplace to Marche Leo's Market, and renamed the old account.

It all seems very strange though, with a half-hearted rebrand to a (comparatively) nonsensical name.

   

[tomh009]

I think they are doing two variations on the stores: Marcheleo's and Marché Leo's Market. The latter name appears to be the one for both the Kitchener store and their new location in the Atrium on Bay in Toronto. How much different the two variants are remains to be seen.
https://www.marche-leos.com/

As to the nonsensicality: this is exactly the kind of thing you would see in Montreal with the combination names: Marché Leo's/Leo's Market, with the repeated "Leo's" eliminated.

[ijmorlan]

I think they are doing two variations on the stores: Marcheleo's and Marché Leo's Market. The latter name appears to be the one for both the Kitchener store and their new location in the Atrium on Bay in Toronto. How much different the two variants are remains to be seen.
https://www.marche-leos.com/

As to the nonsensicality: this is exactly the kind of thing you would see in Montreal with the combination names: Marché Leo's/Leo's Market, with the repeated "Leo's" eliminated.

Ottawa is like that too: All bridges seem to have names that begin with Pont, all roads are named Chemin something, and so on.

[jamincan]

I'm familiar with the practice in bilingual cities, but it does seem a bit odd in the Kitchener context.