The doors are open at this recently renovated apartment building in Bradford.
After almost two years of total vacancy due to a fire on March 22, 2021 and about $14 million worth of renovations that took place as a result, 114 Holland St. West reopened its doors to both returning and new tenants earlier this year.
The Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal released a report to the 81-unit building’s owners that found the ignition source was undetermined and deemed the fire accidental, according to Danny Roth, representative for the owners.
“It was a very impactful fire. It impacted first and foremost the tenants, the residents who were in place at the time, but obviously from a business perspective it was a challenging repair. It affected suites, common areas, operational systems — all of which took time to repair,” Roth said.
The re-occupancy was announced publicly on Feb. 27 this year and according to Roth the first tenant was able to return to the building the following day, with a total of 27 of the original tenants returning over the following six weeks.
What they found was very different from before.
Some of the renovated areas of the building include: new carpeting in corridors, new lighting systems throughout, new lighting in stairwells, new paint, units have new entry doors, lobbies have been redone, and rebuild or refinish common areas, such as the laundry room and party room.
The building also saw a new parking deck, water proofing, asphalt paving, concrete work, additional security cameras and a new corridor air-return system.
“It’s not the way anybody wants to get there, but you are essentially walking into, for all intents and purposes, a new building. Structurally we didn’t have to knock the building down, but we have seen significant restoration work throughout the building,” Roth said.
Inside the suites, tenants can find new kitchen cabinets, hardware, appliances, counter tops, new electrical, bathroom fixtures, wall and flooring tile, and bathroom lighting.
In some cases balcony slabs, doors and railings also needed replacement, some of which is ongoing.
“I think that it would safe to say that from the inside of your unit out, just about every element of the building that a tenant interacts with has had, to one degree or another, work done to it since the fire,” Roth said.
Originally built in 1972, the building also went through an upgraded fire safety program to conform to new standards and regulations.
“I’m not a fire safety or construction expert, but certainly that enhanced safety system conforms with the updated fire safety regulations and statues that would apply locally or provincially,” Roth said.
Roth credits the effort of teams handling the work, but also the town and tenants.
“It was an extensive restoration job and we were very fortunate in the immediate days with the response from the town and certainly the attitude and approach taken by our tenants — co-operative all the way through,” he said.
While the returning tenants were able to resume occupancy at the same rate they were paying in March 2021, the building currently has about 35 units available, which Roth hopes will help with the ongoing need in a rental and housing crisis.
“One unit, let alone 80 odd units taken off the market can have devastating consequences. So by reintroducing 80 odd units, that goes a step towards helping the community address its housing challenges, and we’re very pleased to be in a position where we can provide safe secure, newly finished apartment living for our community,” he said.
When it comes to finally being open again and having almost all of the repairs complete, Roth said there are some mixed emotions.
“These things are little bit bittersweet. We celebrate and are thrilled to reopen the doors, but we are also cognizant of the events that preceded the reopening and why we had to get there, which is not something anyone wants to see happen,” he said.
Plumes of black smoke were seen billowing into the sky on March 22, 2021 as crews battled the blaze that broke out on the fifth floor of the eight-storey building.
The town set up an evacuation centre at the Danube Centre for all residents of the apartment building who needed a place to go, and local businesses donated food for displaced tenants and first responders.
With files from BradfordToday Staff
