Funny because that's not how it works at TD and FCP. Both are not owned by the banks, but rather leading companies like Oxford and cushman Wakefield. Those are the ones that pay of it.. As for glass replacement, the buildings were fully occupied during the recladding. I'm sure the replacement of condo glass would require someone to vacate their condo for no more than a day while a crew comes in, removes the old glass in their unit, and replaced it. Do this to 400 units, with say 4 crews, you can get the work done for te whole condo in about 6 months.
*sigh* Let me rephrase: The
owners of bank buildings can afford to re-clad their properties. And FCP was more a failing marble replacement than a window job. Plummeting chunks of marble = not good for business.
While the patching or replacement of a single pane of condo glass would not require much effort, the re-skinning of an entire building would. Not only would it require that all residents move out for several weeks but it would cost each owner a mountain of cash (via special assessment) and seriously affect the resale value of each unit.
This is worth a look. The professor appears to have no 'skin in the game' as it were nor do dollar signs appear in his title (just Ph.D). It is a long read (maybe 500+ tweets, all weirdly strung-together-like) and there are no dramatic night renders or world-class skyline shots. Despite these shortcomings, he seems to have garnered some knowledge of buildings and stuff and things. Maybe he passed a 6 week RE course?
http://www.daniels.utoronto.ca/files/condo_conundrum.pdf
An excerpt:
"But first, let's begin by looking at the typical situation being forecast for glass condo towers, beginning at the point where a new condominium is handed over to the condominium board comprised of unit owners. At this point the Tarion condominium coverage has come into effect as follows: One Year, Two Year and Major Structural Defect warranties are in effect, where the aggregate maximum warranty coverage for new homes and condominium units is $300,000. The maximum coverage for condominium common elements is $50,000 times the number of units, to a maximum of $2.5 million. All minor deficiencies are covered under the One Year and Two Year warranties and between years 3 and 7, the Major Structural Defect warranty applies. The latter is rarely invoked since the reinforced concrete structures of condo towers are well engineered and constructed. Normally, by the end of the total warranty coverage period, isolated performance problems begin to occur within the window wall assemblies, mostly visible as water leakage. These are remediated on an as-required basis until such time as the problems become chronic and extensive.
At this time, the least expensive repair is to seal the exterior face of the window wall assemblies over the entire building.1 This expenditure is not usually forecast in the reserve fund study, and hence it requires a special assessment be levied against all the condominium unit owners, prorated on a floor area basis. This form of remediation only lasts for 10 to 15 years and then it must be either repeated or the entire window wall facade replaced. If the former option is elected, then the repair work becomes quite visible and these special assessments must be disclosed to prospective buyers. Not only does the building begin to look shabby, but it also has relatively higher maintenance fees than more durable condo towers. Alternatively, a much more expensive special assessment for replacing the entire building envelope can be levied and then a proper allocation for future maintenance and replacement be included within the reserve fund. What is important to appreciate is that either way, the market value of the condo tower is affected, and its marketability can also be compromised by concerns over appearances and/or durability and performance problems.
1 A significant proportion of the repair cost is associated with staging that allows technicians to go up and down the exterior of the building facade to work safely and efficiently. For this reason, performing numerous, intermittent spot repairs is often more costly than sealing the entire building, or as a minimum, one side of a building at a time.
Another aspect of the window wall replacement scenario that is critical to appreciate is it will require occupants to move out of their units while the work is taking place. As the existing building envelope is removed and replaced, likely on a floor-by-floor basis for each building face, the occupants will have to relocate while the work is carried out for anywhere from several weeks to a month. This will cause added expenses and disruption that will ripple through the building as the work proceeds. During the many months this replacement program is being executed, it is reasonable to assume it is not advantageous to put up a condo unit for sale, given the timing and cost uncertainties associated with a major retrofit.
In other words, management wouldn't simply slide a note under your door asking you to "Please move your couch as we will be replacing an entire wall of your unit today around noonish. Thx, Management"
