Tenants’ committee says incomplete repairs contributed to COVID-19 outbreak at Hamilton highrise

Tenants at a downtown Hamilton highrise that had a massive COVID-19 outbreak are calling for the building’s owner to do repairs they say may have contributed to the virus’s ability to spread so easily.

The Rebecca Towers tenants’ committee held a press conference in front of the 17-storey building on Monday, after which they served building staff with more than 45 work orders for repairs for multiple issues, including plumbing, electrical, ventilation, and fire control.

The group claims most of the repair requests predate provincial lockdown orders and have remained unresolved for a long time.

Lloyd Smith, who lives on the top floor of the highrise, said he submitted a work order in November 2017 requesting repairs to his ceiling.

More than three and a half years later, he said those repairs have not yet been done.

“I have talked to the current manager about this. He has told me to put in a new work order, but this one, being four years old, is probably at the top half of the list by now, so I don’t really want to put in a new work order.”

“Hopefully someday I won’t have to put out buckets every time it rains.”

In a series of photos posted to Twitter and shared with local media, the tenants’ committee said some units have “gaping” holes in the walls and ceilings, adding that some residents can see into neighbouring units.

Emily Power, who is a member of the tenants’ committee but lives in a different building nearby, said residents are fearful of what kind of impact those open holes are having on their health and safety.

“We also fear that air leakage between units might have contributed to the fast transmission of the virus in the building and the outbreak that was declared in May.”

A total of 110 people — 107 residents and three staff — were infected in the outbreak, which also resulted in the death of one resident.

The building having only one working elevator for several months has been highlighted by tenants as a potential contributor to the size of the outbreak, with residents being unable to physically distance as easily without a second elevator to make more frequent trips up and down.

Power said the second elevator was re-opened on June 8 but said the committee has been unable to find out from building management whether it was closed between then and January due to safety concerns or for cosmetic upgrades.

“It nothing really appears to have changed in the elevator, apart from the installation of some new laminate flooring and a fancy LCD TV.”

Medallion Corporation, the company that owns Rebecca Towers, has not yet responded to a request for comment from Global News.

In May, a spokesperson for Medallion told Global News that they expected the work on the elevators to be finished by the end of that month.

“As we have stated publicly already, the elevator work at the building was essential and couldn’t be avoided,” said spokesperson Danny Roth.

Hamilton public health has said the COVID-19 outbreak at Rebecca Towers was the result of socialization between residents in the building, which the tenants’ committee has disputed.

Roth previously told Global News that speculation about the COVID-19 situation at 235 Rebecca Street is “best left to public health officials”, adding that Medallion intended to cooperate fully with public health and follow their guidance and advice.