Scarborough neighbourhood upset by lengthy renovations of housing complex

WATCH: Scarborough residents are upset that the redevelopment of old rental buildings is taking longer than expected.  Mark McAllister reports.

TORONTO – Neighbours near a housing complex in Scarborough are growing weary of the boarded-up windows and graffiti-covered walls during construction that has, they believe, has hardly started.

But developers say work is underway and in just a few months residents will be able to move in.

The buildings are on Victoria Park Avenue just north of Lawrence Avenue East. The complex was bought by the Magnum Opus Group – a construction company that bills itself as “committed to creating the highest quality building product,” according to their website.

The initial plan was to build brand new townhouses and three condos that would have 575 units in total. Since then, the project has been scaled back and the group will be renovating the currently gutted townhomes.

In December 2012, Jeffrey Feldberg, chairman of the Magnum Opus Group, told Global News that the doors of the renovated buildings would be opening for the community in early spring, and families would begin moving in by late summer or early fall.

“It’s really a puzzle piece. Anytime you’re doing effectively a renovation from older construction, you just never know what’s behind the walls,” Feldberg said in an interview Friday.

Construction crews have run into a series of complications and unexpected but necessary repairs that had to be completed before the major work could begin, Feldberg said.

“The HVAC and the size of the tubes that we can put in, to the wiring, to the insulation, effectively we’re building these from the ground up,” he said.  “We’re moving as quickly as we can but more importantly as safely as we can.”

Magnum Opus Group drafted a letter to residents in the area in July explaining the difficulties inherent in renovating the old buildings. The letter outlined renovations that are “more time consuming and more difficult” than originally planned but noted that work is “well under way.”

The problem for many residents: the letter was never sent to them.

While the sound of power-tools and construction equipment can be heard and seen outside the building, neighbours tell Global News there has been “very little activity” in the last eight months.

“It’s been so long that the weeds are growing up over my fence,” said Peggy Bowers, who’s lived in the neighbourhood for 59 years. “I don’t know what is the hold up. But I wish they would finish.”

Crews were seen repairing windows and trucks were busy driving in and out of the construction site on Friday. So far, much of the work has been inside the building, according to area councillor Michael Thompson who claims to have spoken at length with the developer.

“I’m told there’s a lot of internal work that’s being done. Apparently there was a lot of work that needed to be done that was not planned for, that they weren’t aware of,” Thompson said in an interview. “I’m at least mindful of the fat that I see progress.”

While from outside, the buildings look like little has changed since December, Feldberg maintains that the first units will be ready by the fall.

Global News has learned that the Ministry of Labour will be sending an inspector to investigate whether the Workplace Health and Safety Act is being violated.

-With files from Mark McAllister