'The cost is all coming back to us': Thousands in levies proposed to reopen beleaguered Saskatoon condo tower
Pigeons, empty cans, bottles and discarded fast-food bags are some of the only signs of life left at the defunct grounds of a 20th Street West condo tower.
On May 6, fences and plywood boards went up to secure the building at 1416 20th St. W., Prairie Heights condominium.
On Wednesday the remains of a homeless camp with multiple tents, blankets and sleeping quarters could be seen in the semi-covered parking lot of the condo.
According to Saskatoon Fire Department, police, social services, as well as Salvation Army and Saweyhitotan Outreach workers helped relocate the people living there on Tuesday.
Norbert Knihnitski owns a unit in the building.
Nearly five months after the condo's closure, Knihnitski said the legal administration Clayton Barry, who was appointed by a Saskatoon’s Court of Queen’s Bench judge to start collecting condo fees and bring order to the affairs of the 44-unit condo tower,held a meeting with the remaining condo owners with a plan to re-open the tower.
“What they want us to do is fork up more money to get this building in shape,” Knihnitski said. “They got different quotes, it needs to be exterminated, winterized so the pipes don’t freeze, but the cost is all coming back to us.”
Before the highrise was shut down, the fire department closed 16 suites and secured another 13 units because of unauthorized access. The department also invoiced the condo $58,000 for “necessary, life-safety repairs completed by various contractors hired by the city of Saskatoon.”
Knihnitski said Barry called a meeting with condo owners on Sept. 15 proposing special levies to be paid for by condo owners to help pay for the outstanding bills and remediations expenses to get the condo tower back open. According to a presentation made to the condo owners Barry is proposing a special levy of $4,966.80 for one-bedroom suite condo owners who are not in arrears. That levy jumps to $8,486.32 for one-bedroom suite owners who are in arrears.
Barry told CTV News among the issues needing attention in the tower is a cockroach infestation, repairs to the fire suppression system, fixing the elevator and cleaning up biohazard and human waste.
"There are also condo owners who haven’t been paying their condo fees so we don’t have that money that’s available and that results in the levy that’s being proposed being higher," Barry said.
Knihnitski said he’s not paying those levies.
But before anything, Barry has called on condo owners to gear up head to toe in personal protective equipment to clean up the garbage and debris collecting at the condo, which is largely the result of the homeless camp set up in the parking area.
“For no fault of ours we got kicked out and now they expect us to clean this up and I told them I’m not coming on Saturday, I didn’t do nothing, I didn’t defecate or urinate in the hallways, we’re the victims here we didn’t cause this,” Knihitski said.
Two condo owners told CTV News if condo fees and special levies aren’t collected by Oct. 15, the building will be put up for sale.
Knihnitski said selling the tower is the best course of action.
“The best thing to do is sell it. Oct. 15 is the deadline to put it up for sale,” he said. “We get what we get, which I know I’m going to walk away with nothing.”
Since the condo closed, Knihnitski said he lived with his mother and is now renting a room with his son. He says he’s still paying mortgage and taxes on his unit at Prairie Heights, but he’s stopped paying condo fees since the building was shut down.
"There’s something wrong with this picture, they’re worried about homeless people and others to have a place to live, but what did you do to us?"
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
BREAKING Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife’s edge.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
Putin begins his fifth term as president, more in control of Russia than ever
Vladimir Putin began his fifth term Tuesday as Russian leader at a glittering Kremlin inauguration, setting out on another six years in office after destroying his political opponents, launching a devastating war in Ukraine and concentrating all power in his hands.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.