Asbestos removal delays other city housing repairs
An unexpected and massive asbestos removal project at two apartment buildings will force the city’s social housing agency to put off millions in other planned repairs this year.
CityHousing Hamilton discovered last fall that water-damaged ceilings in two 10-storey highrises on Congress Crescent contained asbestos that needed to be remediated to protect tenant health.
The project could cost as much as $5 million — or more than half the social housing agency’s total 2019 capital repair budget, currently proposed at $8.6 million.
The whopping price tag will “severely impact” the agency’s ability to deal with a backlog of repairs in an affordable housing portfolio of 1,200 properties and 5,800 affordable units, warned CEO Tom Hunter in a written update to the CityHousing board.
The cash-strapped agency is already struggling to keep up with old building problems across the city, including failing elevators at two downtown towers and hundreds of dilapidated, decades-old single-family homes — many of which are now up for sale.
Housing agency board president Chad Collins said he has asked for a report on how many other old apartment buildings could face similar asbestos removal challenges in future. “Who’s to say we won’t face that sort of bill again next year — or twice in one year?” he said.
Without an influx of new cash, the housing agency is proposing to put off other big-ticket repair projects originally planned for 2019 and cut funding for other emergency budgets. Among the largest proposed delayed projects or cuts:
• $750,000 in replacements of old windows and balcony doors at a Stinson neighbourhood affordable housing building at 170 East Ave. S;
• $1 million to replace railings and concrete balcony slabs at a circa-1972 seniors residence at 555 Queenston Rd;
• A planned $350,000 purchase of emergency generators;
• $200,000 planned for a contingency fund that deals with in-year emergencies like a failing roof or boiler.
City council is expected to sign off on the 2019 capital budget later this month.