The past 16 months have not been easy for anyone residing on or near Marc Chagall Avenue with construction of the condo living highrise project called The Equinoxe. The first of two buildings will be completed by early fall and tenants have already moved in to the first few floors. It is more than 80 percent rented, I am told. Excavation on the second building will begin in August.
When the project was announced I formed a committee of representatives from the local condo associations and the developers. We have met several times and line of communication is open. We have made progress on many issues, but the reality is nobody will be completely happy until the second facility is completed. That is probably at least 18 months away as we no longer allow outdoor construction on weekends, something that was realized upon the insistence of the condo reps. Interestingly enough there are many former Marc Chagall Avenue condo residents who have sold their units and moved to The Equinoxe.
Right now we have a serious issue with parking. For starters, at the Equinoxe their driveway and rear parking lot will be used for tenant parking starting on July 23. The developers are painting lines temporarily and assigning spots to ensure it remains organized.We have asked then to use the city lot and their front entrance drop off areas as a last resort. They have plenty of space to accommodate all their current tenants, but there is nothing stopping them from parking on the public street as well, just like all neighbouring building occupants may also park on the street free. Access to the garage should be open in early September. The garage is ready inside, but the driveway just needs to be leveled, compacted and paved. The sidewalks on the property and concrete borders are complete.
Complicating matters is news that the Rothchild II at 5850 Marc Chagall will be commencing garage work that can no longer be delayed as of August 13. The work should take between five and six weeks. Residents of the Rothchild II will have to be displaced and park on the street. The Rothchild II has about 12 parking spots that will be used for the priority condo owners who are handicapped, but the condo requires an addititional five handicapped designated spaces on the street. Our Public Security Department is working with building management on this matter, but the fact remains this still leaves about another 83 owners who will have to park their vehicles on the streets around the condo. Let's not forget that the large number of workers on the Equinoxe take up spots too. We leased them land across from the Marquise. In spring and summer the land was too soft for cars to park, but it seems fine now and we will urge them to use this space.
I want to assure everyone that our senior staff in Public Security and Urban Development are working diligently on what is by no means an easy situation to resolve. Thanks to City Manager Tanya Abramovitch, Co-City Manager Jonathan Shecter , Urban Development Director Charles Senekal, Urban Planning Manager Jeff Davey and Mayor Mitchell Brownstein for their tireless efforts and support.
