CONDO BUSINESS / June 2016

Canada’s Most Widely Read Condominium Magazine

RETAIL

POLITICS

June 2016 • Vol. 31 #3

Toronto wants to build complete communities.

That means more groundfloor cafes, shops and restos in condos. But do today’s atgrade spaces make the grade?

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Contents FEATURE

DEPARTMENTS

10

24

Governance Fetching Fido

By Emma and Gilleen Witkowski

26

Let’s talk communication committees

By Brian Bosscher

Talking shops

By Michelle Ervin

FOCUS ON: TECHNOLOGY

14

Thermal metering crosses the pond

By Ross Garland

16

The robots are here…now what?

By Filip Sobotka

20

A community’s search for a condominium management system

By Luigi Benetton

IN EVERY ISSUE

8 30

Ask the expert Smart ideas

THIS MONTH’S ONLINE EXCLUSIVES ALL THE BUZZ

Industry reacts to Competition Bureau inquiry It’s too soon to know what the ultimate fallout from the Competition Bureau’s investigation into allegations of bid-rigging and conspiracy in the supply of condo refurbishment services might be. A media spokesperson for the independent law enforcement agency said in a May 31 email that the inquiry is “ongoing” and that “there is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time.”

A CMHC report predicts that housing starts will slow in 2016 and 2017.

FROM THE GREEN BIN

Streamline site plan approval: Ontario architects Toon Dreessen, president of the Ontario Association of Architects, is renewing the OAA’s call for a streamlined site plan approval process, citing its impact on the end product: buildings in which people live and work. He said the move would stimulate the micro-economies of neighbourhoods as well as support government efforts to address climate change and housing affordability with highquality urban design.

Tarion review consultations kick off in Toronto As consultations in the Tarion review kicked off in Toronto April 13, the former trial judge commissioned to independently examine the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act and the corporation that administers it said that he had assured those who had expressed concerns that he has “no marching orders.” Justice J. Douglas Cunningham said that he would not have accepted the assignment if it came with constraints.

The CaGBC is expanding training to meet rising demand for skilled workers in the green building field.

EXPERT ADVICE

Peter Mills talks sub-metering in multifamily space.

CONNECT WITH US ON:

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EDITOR'S LETTER

Retail politics

Publisher Mitchell Saltzman Editor Michelle Ervin Advertising Sales Sean Foley, Stephanie Philbin, Daniel Ross

You can’t choose your neighbours,

as the saying goes. That’s as true for condos as it is for detached homes, although proximity and shared financial

Senior Designer Annette Carlucci Designer Jennifer Carter

interests may increase the probability of disputes in multi-unit residential buildings.

Ground-floor commercial spaces add yet another potential source of friction to the mix in the increasingly common blended-use multiunit residential building. It can get even murkier depending on how the relationship between the commercial and residential units is structured in a condominium’s declaration.

How common expenses are allocated may be a concern if residential unit owners believe they are subsidizing the energy use of commercial tenants. Plus, the nature of the businesses and the design of the building may give rise to noise complaints and security concerns, respectively.

Although we can’t choose our neighbours, City of Toronto staff will be collecting input from the public this month on proposed changes to planning retail policies. The move comes as part of a broader initiative that will culminate in a new long-term vision for the intensifying downtown core.

CondoBusiness’ cover story looks at at-grade retail spaces in mixed-use developments specifically, exploring the proposed changes as well as what’s working and what’s not. There are cases of ground-floor units sitting vacant in emerging neighbourhoods; there are also cases of master-planned communities leasing up with indie shops.

Also in this technology-themed issue, you will find articles on a community’s search for condominium management software; an overview of thermal submetering, which has crossed the pond from Europe and faces impending regulation; and a sneak peek at what advances in robotics hold in store for building envelope inspections.

Ultimately, the City of Toronto can regulate where at-grade retail spaces go as well as some of their public-facing design features, but it has little control over who moves in and whether the interiors support them — and whether they support the peaceful co-existence of commercial and residential neighbours. That’s up to the developer.

Production Manager Rachel Selbie

Michelle Ervin Editor, CondoBusiness michellee@mediaedge.ca

5255 Yonge Street, Suite 1000, Toronto, ON M2N 6P4 (416) 512-8186 Fax: (416) 512-8344 e-mail: info@mediaedge.ca

Digital & Sales Coordinator Paula Miyake Contributing Writers Luigi Benetton, Brian Bosscher, Ross Garland, Ashley Shaffer, Filip Sobotka, Emma and Gilleen Witkowski Digital Media Director Steven Chester Subscription Rates Canada: 1 year, $60*; 2 years, $110* Single Copy Sales: Canada: $10*.

Elsewhere: $12 USA: $85 International: $110 *Plus applicable taxes Reprints: Requests for permission to reprint any portion of this magazine should be sent to info@mediaedge.ca.

Circulation Department Maria Siassina circulation@mediaedge.ca (416) 512-8186 ext. 246 CONDOBUSINESS is published eight times a year by

President Kevin Brown Accounting Manager Samhar Razzak Group Publisher Melissa Valentini

CONDOBUSINESS welcomes letters but accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.

Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 40063056 ISSN 0849-6714 All contents copyright MediaEdge Communications Inc. Printed in Canada on recycled paper.

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ASK THE EXPERT

Making accessibility accessible What are a condo corporation’s next moves

when it’s

asked to undertake renovations to accommodate residents with disabilities? Ashley Shaffer, condo litigator at Fine & Deo, sheds light on the path to a more inclusive community with some general guidelines.

New condominium corporations are almost always equipped with adequate accessibility. However, some older condominiums were built before accessibility was a legislative or societal imperative. Often, when a resident with a disability moves into these older condominiums, the corporation must undertake renovations to accommodate the needs of this resident.

What are some considerations that face the condominium corporation in these situations? Of course, one should always consult with counsel for specific advice that takes into account the particular facts of any situation. However, below are some general guidelines on the issue.

8 CONDOBUSINESS | www.condobusiness.ca

Is notice to unit owners required?

The corporation is free to undertake this type of renovation without consultation with or notice to unit owners. The Condominium Act (section 97[2][a], specifically) permits this type of expenditure when it is necessary to comply with the Ontario Human Rights Code. For example, the Ontario Human Rights Code requires equal treatment with respect to the occupancy of accommodation based on disability. As a result, if a resident requires a ramp to enter a building, the condominium corporation cannot refuse to install that ramp.

1 2015-11-19 ASK THE EXPERT

BradySeidner_ACMO_Condo_Supplement_2015_FINAL.pdf

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How should the renovation be funded?

Legally speaking, the safest route is to use money from the general operating fund of the condominium corporation to pay for the renovation, via available funds or via special assessment.

Section 93(2) of the Condominium Act states that the “reserve fund shall be used solely for the purpose of major repair and replacement of the common elements and assets of the corporation.” Renovations to make the building more accessible do not fit squarely into the definitions of “major repair” or “replacement.”

In the case where a special assessment is required to finance the renovations, proceeding this way may carry some political risk. Levying a special assessment might create a backlash among unit owners, who could requisition a meeting to remove the directors that decided to levy the special assessment, or who could vote those directors out of office at the next election.

If there is no money available in the general operating fund and it if is not politically viable to levy a special assessment, the condominium corporation may consider using money from the reserve fund to pay for the renovations. The risk of a unit owner challenging this decision is quite low. Even in the case that this decision is challenged, it is very unlikely that a court would rule against a condominium corporation that decided to finance the renovations in this way.

Opportunity knocking These types of renovations don’t only benefit the individual requesting them. Among the paybacks are that they make it easier for future residents who require accommodation to move in, they make it easier for current residents who have guests who require accommodation to access the building, and they may even make it easier for residents with an armload of groceries or a baby in tow to enter the building. 1 June 2016 9

COVER STORY

TALKING Toronto wants to build complete communities. That means more podium-level cafes, restaurants and stores in condos. As the city reviews its retail planning policies for the downtown core, it begs the question: How do today’s at-grade spaces stack up?

BY MICHELLE ERVIN

COVER STORY

SHOPS

June 2016 11

COVER STORY

Complete communities are all the buzz in urban planning right now, and Toronto is on trend as the relatively young city grows into its status as a global metropolis. They key into millennials’ desire to live, work and play in the same neighbourhood with mixed residential and commercial uses.

In the context of Toronto’s enduring condo boom, that has meant more ground-floor cafes, restaurants and shops at the foot of high-rise towers. Done right, the model makes for vibrant neighbourhoods. Done poorly, the model lays the foundation for tension between tenants of commercial units and owners of residential units; it can also set the stage for a revolving door of tenants and vacant spaces.

The City recently surveyed this retail landscape, of examples good and bad, as part of an ongoing review of the planning regime for the downtown core. The review will culminate in a long-term roadmap for the area north of Lake Ontario, east of Bathurst Street, south of the rail corridor and Rosedale Valley Road and west of the Don River.

Planning retail On the store front, the review produced the December, 2015 TOcore Retail and Service Commercial Land Use Study, prepared by J.C. Williams Group, MSH and Ryerson University’s Centre for the Study of Commercial Activity. The study found that Toronto is largely getting retail right, but identified a couple of challenges that could be addressed with policy adjustments.

For one, the study suggests updating the Priority Retail Streets zoning bylaw, which designates where commercial uses must be provided as well as how much, what types and the relationship between their pedestrian entrances and the public realm.

For another, the study recommends lowering the maximum allowed floor plate for a single retail unit to 3,500 square metres. Finally, the study prescribes drawing up a best practices

manual for the quality design of ground-floor commercial uses.

David Fitzpatrick, project lead on the study, said that the City will be consulting the public on these proposals in June.

Toronto mapped out its Priority Retail Streets in the 199 0s. Whatever the methodology staff used at the time, it omitted some obvious candidates for the designation, such as Queen Street. While the City has ideas about which strips ought to be deemed main streets for the purpose of prioritizing retail, said Fitzpatrick, it will be soliciting input from the public on this point.

Developers have been increasingly receptive to delivering ground -floor commercial spaces, according to the study, but it added that they tend to prefer national tenants. As the City establishes new retail areas to meet rising demand due to population growth, it recognizes downtown as an important place for destination shopping. At the same time, the City wants to reinforce the character of existing pedestrian shopping strips, which in many cases means smallscale stores.

Lowering the maximum allowed floor plate of a single retail unit would empower staff to focus regulatory efforts on large stores with greater economic and urban design impacts by requiring a rezoning application. (Most high-rise condominiums go through rezoning applications anyway.)

“Municipalities have tried to regulate use — San Francisco’s tried to stop chain stores, for example — but planning policy is simply too crude a tool to get into something that’s so fine-grained in the way that a mall manager can control tenants in a nuanced way,” Fitzpatrick said.

Not only is the City’s influence over who moves into ground-floor commercial spaces limited; so is its influence over what happens in the interiors, which affect a business operator’s ability to succeed in at-grade units.

Fitzpatrick confirmed that the city plans to

12 CONDOBUSINESS | www.condobusiness.ca

establish a best practices manual on how to make retail work with design considerations such as floor-to-floor heights and practical considerations such as how the HVAC system works.

“We did hear that in smaller condos, where you have retail uses embedded within the same condo corporation as residential uses, that it’s setting yourself up for challenges in operational issues,” he said. “It’s something we might want to touch on in the best practices manual, but to a degree that issue falls to the responsibility of developers to make sure they’re setting up their retail to be successful.”

Designing at-grade F o r G a r y S w i t ze r, C E O of M O D Developments, the success of at-grade retail depends on good design. He used one of his projects, the 48-storey, 526-unit FIVE Condos, to illustrate his point.

The development features ground-floor commercial units on its Yonge Street and St. Joseph Street frontages, with residential units starting on the second floor. Switzer said its design addresses potential sources of conflict by locating servicing for the retail spaces at the rear of the building and using appropriate mechanical equipment for the food service spaces to prevent odour issues.

Design aside, one of the reasons groundfloor commercial uses may flop is due to oversaturation in emerging neighbourhoods such as East Bayfront.

“They [the city] want retail on practically every frontage, which right now can’t be supported by the population, so it’s a dilemma in some projects and you can see the result even in the core: projects that have empty retail spaces,” said Switzer.

Ultimately, unleased commercial units sit on the books of the developers, as they factor projected revenue from collecting rent into their pro formas.

While he considered it a given that at-grade

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retail would be provided along noted shopping strips such as Queen Street, he questioned whether it should be required in areas such as Bathurst Street south of Bloor Street.

There, it may make more sense to apply the Vancouver model of building townhouses at the podium level than to mandate at-grade retail where it has not previously been the prevailing form.

Where ground-floor commercial uses can be supported, curating the right mix of tenants for a vibrant community may mean rolling the dice on an untested entrepreneur to break up staples such as dry cleaners and nail salons.

If national chains are preferred tenants, it’s because lessees such as banks are a safe bet.

“Developers will fill up the space with whoever will pay rent, but I think you want to design spaces so that you can attract the highest quality tenants,” said Switzer.

Casting tenants What makes for a high-quality tenant may be subjective. For example, Rob Spanier foresees independent shops as the future of retail. Spanier is a partner and principal at Live Work Learn Play, the international real estate development and advisory firm leading the retail strategy for the Canary District.

The master-planned community, which served as the site of the Athletes’ Village during the 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games in Toronto, is precisely the kind of largescale mixed-use project in which the firm specializes. After the multi-sport event ended, Dundee Kilmer Developments began converting the district to its legacy uses, tearing down walls in units that temporarily accommodated out-of-town participants to ready condos for their end users.

The role of Spanier and his firm in creating this instant neighbourhood was to populate 46,000 square feet of retail space with tenants.

He used an approach that characterizes the hunt for the right business operators as casting, which hints at his selective process.

Spanier said he considers who the person is — including his or her experience and financial capacity — and what his or her concept is, with the goal being to sign permanent tenants. He’s always looking for best-in-class businesses that, vitally, fit into the vision for the overall project.

“I find that a lot of the developments focused on the current demand for real estate and being first to market sometimes miss simple things like: What are these people going to want once they live here?” said Spanier.

In the case of the Canary District, it was established that the commercial spaces should have a health and wellness theme.

Not only was it a nod to the neighbourhood’s role hosting participants in the Pan/Parapan Am Games, but it was a decision based on what would complement the character of the surrounding communities, such as the artsy Distillery District. Juice bar Fuel Plus and personal training facility Think Fitness are among the confirmed tenants. They are intentionally “co-located,” or grouped together, within the district for synergy.

It’s important to take into account how residents of mixed-use developments will interact with commercial tenants, as Spanier explained. He recalled how when he first moved to Toronto, he went down to the lobby of his building to drop off his dry cleaning and learned that he would have to walk around the corner — outside, in February — to do so.

“In understanding human behaviour and understanding the demand, you can actually improve the viability of your retail asset,” he said.

As of press time, Spanier’s firm had announced 12 of 16 tenancies in phase one of the Canary District, with the remainder expected to be made public in late summer.

This fall, Toronto staff is due to report back to City Council with its proposed approach to developing the downtown core’s new secondary plan, including retail planning.

Next year, staff will present actual policies for consideration. 1

Developing your content strategy

By Steven Chester Minutes after sending that first tweet, thousands of passive onlookers instantly turn into clients and advocates, with media buzz sending audiences flocking to your door.

If only it worked that way. Without a content strategy behind those social media pushes, your message is very quickly on its way to being lost in the plethora of brand noise.

Think about the story you want your organization to tell and how you can position it as a thought leader. What questions are being asked in your industry that your business can answer?

Write down your ideas, and generate some compelling content.

Think of visuals as well – if your business designs or installs anything, you’ve got it made. Otherwise, are you attending any events? Presenting to audiences?

Taking part in charitable events?

Winning awards? What about something lighthearted around the office where you’re showing some personality?

Then, create a content calendar that illustrates what you’re going to say. Mix those content posts – at least two each week – with shares from other groups and influencers you want to impress.

In that calendar, sandwich between those posts the one thing you’re really there for: marketing. People get it. They know you’re a business. As long as you’re not hammering away the marketing messages, you can get away with slipping a weekly marketing message in between that great content.

Steven Chester is the Digital Media Director of MediaEdge Communications. With 15 years’ experience in cross-platform communications, Steven helps companies expand their reach through social media and other digital initiatives. To contact him directly, email gosocial@mediaedge.ca or call 416.512.8686 x224.

June 2016 13

TECHNOLOGY

Thermal metering crosses the pond S u b -m e t e r i n g h a s b e c o m e the new normal when it comes to

BY ROSS GARLAND

managing electricity use in multi-residential buildings.

By

transferring the responsibility and direct usage costs to residents, sub-metering enables condo boards and property managers to better predict cash flows and mitigate the impact of rising electricity prices. Sub-metering typically leads to a decline in in-suite electricity consumption of approximately 40 per cent.

Based on the economic and environmental benefits alone, it is no surprise that the sub-metering industry is poised for continued growth when it comes to both new builds and retrofits.

Condo developers and property managers can expect more innovation from the industry in the sub -metering of other utilities, including water, gas, and thermal.

This is especially true when it comes to ther mal sub - metering , w hich is widespread in Europe, where district

heating and cooling energy plants are common. These plants supply heating and cooling to single-family dwellings, commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. The operators of district energy plants use large thermal meters to charge for the energy delivered to the building.

The residents are then charged by building owners through sub-metering systems custom-designed for the building.

As multi - residential buildings increasingly incorporate mixed uses,

14 CONDOBUSINESS | www.condobusiness.ca

thermal sub - metering can effectively measure the heating and cooling energy requirements for each entity. Much like electricity, water and gas sub-metering, this ensures transparency of utility costs across residential suites as well as retail stores, large grocery stores, gyms, shared facilities and commercial spaces.

How it works Thermal meters are usually installed inside each unit, where they measure the

TECHNOLOGY

amount of heat added or removed from a space. A thermal calculator processes data that is collected through temperature sensors and a flow meter. In multi residential buildings, thermal meters are typically installed inside a fan coil unit or heat pump, maximizing valuable suite floor space.

The earlier thermal sub -metering is integrated into a building’s design, the better. During the design phase, the submetering system solution provider should review drawings in consultation with a mechanical engineer. From there, the fan coil unit/heat pump manufacturer is engaged to integrate the thermal meters into individual fan coil units/heat pumps.

Before construction and installation, t h e s u b - m ete r i n g p rov i d e r s h o u l d conduct a design review meeting with contractors and the builder to provide technical expertise and best practices for installation. Final costs vary depending on the heating and cooling specifications for each unit.

exercise caution. It appears not all thermal meters manufactured and sold in North America comply with the European and international regulations, which may result in increased compliance costs when regulations roll out.

Although the market in Canada is modest in comparison to Europe, demand for thermal sub-metering is expected to increase as the technology becomes more half_page_residential_ad_PRINT.pdf accessible and as developers become

more familiar with it. Further, it stands to reason that once residents are handed control over their bill, consumption will decline, producing additional economic and environmental benefits. 1 Ross Garland is senior vice president and general manager of Enercare Connections, a su b - metering p rovid er fo r multi residential, mixed-use 1 2015-06-01 12:42 PM and commercial buildings across Canada.

The Canadian context T h e u p t a ke o f t h e r m a l m e t e r i n g technology across Canada varies. In British Columbia, thermal metering can C be found in district heating plants and M the multi-residential sector. In Ontario, installations can be found in multi Y residential and mixed-use buildings.

CM Thermal metering is not currently MY r e g u l a t e d i n C a n a d a . H o w e v e r, M e a sure m e nt C an a d a , the fe d erCY al agency responsible for ensuring the CMY accurac y of trade measurement in K Canada, has offered guidance by way of a sector review for the steam and thermal energy trade in 2010 and through recommendations, decisions and an implementation update.

When it is ready to roll out regulations for thermal metering regulation, Measurement C anada has indicated that it will adopt established European and international standards: EN 1434 of the Measuring Instrument Directive and the International Organization for Legal Metrology (OIML) R75 requirements.

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) has already adopted EN 1434 in its CSA-C900 standard for heat meters.

A s su c h , d eve l o p e r s se ek in g to inte g r ate ther m al meter in g sh o ul d June 2016 15

TECHNOLOGY

The robots are here‌now what?

Technolog y is one of those things that never stops moving,

BY FILIP SOBOTKA

and sometimes it can be daunting to keep up with all the latest advancements out there. If leveraged correctly, though, it can provide

great amounts of value to those that take the jump and never look back.

16 CONDOBUSINESS | www.condobusiness.ca

TECHNOLOGY

Everyone loves technology, but it takes a little bit of foresight and a change in perspective to appreciate the potential value. Take the example of the soon-tobe self-driving car. On the one hand, it might sound silly to have a car controlled by a network of computer programs.

On the other hand, it might eventually seem insane in retrospect that 16-yearolds were given control of a 4,000-pound machine, capable of hitting speeds of more than 100 kilometres per hour.

So, what equivalent technological innovations are happening in the world of condos today?

Data collection Technology is being leveraged to conduct dangerous jobs such as building envelope inspections. Consider the case of the engineer on a swing stage taping his camera to a broom stick to get a view around the corner of the building.

T he ad vancement of drones and robotics allows for this collection of information to b e done faster and without the hazards associated with dangling humans from heights. Instead of collecting data from a small portion of the exterior and extrapolating the results, it’s now possible to capture information from the entire exterior.

When it comes to the health of a building, more information is always a good thing, and a drone can easily fly around a building and collect data across the envelope.

Computer vision and machine learning Now, with all these images of a building to review, technology can be of further assistance. Computer programs are being developed to perform more complex tasks traditionally reserved for humans.

Two-dimensional images captured from a camera mounted on a drone or robot can be run through image processing and analysis for contrast enhancement, e d g e d ete c t i o n o r n o i s e re m ov a l .

It’s like zooming in on an image using a microscope and grouping together or clustering similar groups of pixels as a means to detect features. This method has been successfully applied already to identif y defects and assess the condition of concrete and asphalt in civil infrastructure.

Machine vision takes this a step further by using various techniques to automate imaging-based inspections. Being more complex, this often requires the help of humans initially, in a process called super vised learning, where humans provide a filter for the image-processing system.

An inspector or engineer can look at an image and can identify it as a window, or as a crack in a brick. Then, after the

computer has learned this feature — often after thousands of instances — the computer can do it autonomously.

This becomes valuable because now the system can save human inspectors time spent reviewing images by filtering them for issues. This technology is still in its early stages, but it’s already being applied in the medical industry to brain and eye imaging, where algorithms can predict diagnoses by piggybacking inputs from

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TECHNOLOGY

specialists based on previous similar and learned images.

The building envelope presents a different set of challenges to the use of machine vision due to the exterior environment. Not being in a controlled setting means the system needs more images and time in order to learn and become more sophisticated.

The real fun starts when predictive models can be applied using artificial intelligence (AI), layering more data, such as

weathering patterns and freeze-thaw cycles, onto the model. Frequent and repeatable scans completed using robotic and drone technology can detect the changes over time, with what is known as time-lapse or fourth-dimension photography.

This learning model allows for humans to input what their previous knowledge suggests should occur, and then get realtime feedback on what actually happened.

This information is then returned to the feedback loop and the process starts

all over again, bet tering ever yone’s knowledge each time.

What's coming next?

The technology train never stops and the systems will only continue to improve, reducing their error levels to match human performance and even surpass them at some point. The other major trend is the development of sensor packages on these robots and drones — laser measurement, depth sense sensors, and sonar capabilities, just to name a few.

The challenge is translating this insight into valuable information. Each step forward in sensor development requires a step back to integrate the new information and capability.

The smart folks at Stanford have combined the climbing robot with drone capabilities with their SCAMP (The Stanford Climbing and Aerial Maneuvering Platform) project.

Using gecko adhesives to climb along a wall, the drone bug also has the capabilities to disengage from the wall and fly to safety should slippage occur.

Now it’s possible to begin looking at what sorts of knowledge can be gained from using this new ability. Perhaps pressure sensors could be used to detect loose components that pose a fall hazard?

The possibilities are really only limited by the things humans can dream up.

As discussed, appreciating the value of leveraging technology is all about perspective.

Some may think that all this stuff is outrageous and that it’s not feasible to ever eliminate the need to dangle humans off the sides of buildings. Others may just be look up into the sky one day, see a drone flying around a building and think to themselves, “How did we ever scan and review these buildings without these things around?” 1 Filip Sobotka is co-founder and CEO of FTD Highrise Inspection Inc.

For the latest in condo tech trends, visit

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TECHNOLOGY

A community’s search for a condominium management system Wa lk by my condominium’s proper t y management off ice and

BY LUIGI BENETTON

you’ ll see a wall-mounted form holder for maintenance requests. I wouldn’t touch these forms. I’d rather call or email the manager or assistant manager. I can attach photos to email to more fully explain my message.

20 CONDOBUSINESS | www.condobusiness.ca

TECHNOLOGY

That might just be my comfort level speaking.

I’ve served on my condo board for nine years, the past several years as treasurer. I’m also a technophile, and I know what systems are available in other industries. For instance, I regularly submit support requests online for things like phone service, software, even coffee makers.

Why do we still use paper to communicate with property managers? Maybe it’s a combination of age (our complex is almost three decades old) and institutional inertia.

Over the years, I and other community members suggested we modernize our systems on several occasions. This year, members of the boards represented on our Shared Facilities Committee (on which I also serve) welcomed four condominium management system vendors to demo their offerings in our board room.

This exercise got me thinking about the business benefits of the systems we’re considering, with a view to sharing this knowledge with other communities.

Keeping technology up to date The Shared Facilities Committee was told its current “suite” of condominium management systems is antiquated. These systems also reside on a computer in the office that the sister corporations pay to maintain.

The systems the committee is considering are based in the cloud. Cloud-based system providers typically use high-end equipment and keep their offerings up to date as part of the subscription fees they charge their clients.

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WHO DOES WHAT All of the objectives we’re pursuing in our search for a condominium management system depend on the roles people play.

Residents will do things such as book amenities, communicate with the office and keep up with happenings in the community.

Directors may approve minutes, “sign” cheques, review monthly financial reports and reach decisions on various issues that management can act upon between board meetings.

With any luck, the directors will forego the need to debate and minute such decisions at board meetings, thus shortening those meetings. (Hopefully the board can also use this feature to survey residents.)

Managers will have a record of all interactions between a resident and the office in one place, along with contact information for both owners and tenants, locker location, bikes registered and so forth. Not having to spend as much time fielding resident or director needs in person or on the phone ought to give managers more time to pursue value-added work that they can’t automate. And if necessary, they can work from any Internet connection.

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TECHNOLOGY

Why not let residents ask for things from a web browser or smartphone app while at work?

RAISING EFFICIENCIES, SAVINGS, REVENUE Automating time-consuming work ought to improve managers’ efficiency, which in turn ought to give residents more value for their property management fees. There are a few other possible revenue and cost improvement tactics. Residents can opt out of receiving paper copies of AGM notices and annual budgets, as well as special notices, reducing printing and mailing costs. With data on busy and quiet periods for amenities such as the party room and guest suites, the community can price services to increase revenues.

The performance and security of their machinery and data storage tend to be light years ahead of what their customers could achieve on their own. All that would be needed to access the community’s data is a modern web browser or (in some cases) a mobile app.

Managing resident accounts Residents can change passwords, recover forgotten passwords, delete accounts, maybe even use a bring-your-own-identity (BYOI) feature so they don’t need to create yet another password they might forget.

They can enter other information like their pets’ names, emergency contacts and vacation absences.

Managers might want to be notified each time information changes in a profile so they can double-check it for correctness. When residents move out, managers will likely have to remove access, while keeping data as long as legally required.

Improving communications between… … individual residents and management The forms mentioned at the beginning of this article, plus office visits and phone calls, represent the communication channels residents use to reach the office.

Why not let residents ask for things from a web browser or smartphone app while at work? For instance, maintenance request forms completed online can be routed into a “maintenance dashboard” that managers can use to triage requests.

In some cases, managers need not get involved. Residents can book amenities such as the party room or guest suites using an online calendar and payment system without assistance. … the community and management The condo lobbies and elevators of the sister corporations, as in many others, contain glassed-off bulletin boards where managers post meeting minutes and notices for residents. But how often do those walls of text capture people’s attention?

Inste ad , m an a g er s c oul d ex p l ain pressing matters and publish meeting minutes using a blog-like site, a resident email list and a community calendar.

Those bulletin boards could be replaced with video screens that rotate through several news items, updated whenever managers see fit, from wherever they happen to be. … residents and the rest of the community Bulletin boards may still have a place, but there’s no harm in adding email alerts or notices on the website when residents have things to sell, parking spots to rent or events they want to host. … directors and management The board spends plenty of time during its meetings hashing out various issues.

Directors also spend time on email between meetings, proving that they’re amenable to

22 CONDOBUSINESS | www.condobusiness.ca

electronic ways of speeding up their decisionmaking.

M e anw hile, c he a p online p o llin g systems let groups reach and record decisions within hours of a matter being put for ward. Decisions made online could quickly be minuted and adapted as electronic notices to residents. … concierge and residents Concierges accept packages on residents’ behalf when they aren’t home and send messages to the tiny screens on the security alarm panels inside suites. These messages could be moved to email, text and phone messages. … the community and the public at large Having a public website to sing the praises of the community ought to buoy resale values. Prospective buyers would likely fall in love with unit layouts, photos of the grounds and athletic facilities… … other systems and the property management system The sister corporations may want to import data from other places to create “dashboards,” accumulations of data that, taken together, create a complete picture.

For instance, it would presumably be handy for managers to see accounting records by resident. The system may even be able to flag overdue common element fees or other amounts owing.

Ultimately, whichever system we choose, the data in the system belongs to the condo corporation. Each vendor told us we could export our data should we choose to switch to a different system. That’s as it should be. 1

Luigi Benetton is a Toronto-based business and technology writer. He writes for both businesses that sell to other businesses as well as magazines. Find out more about Luigi at LuigiBenetton.com.

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June 2016 23 13-02-27 4:39 PM

GOVERNANCE

Fetching Fido As Toronto grows in population and height, its busy residents are opting for animal

BY EMMA AND GILLEEN WITKOWSKI

companionship and becoming dog parents in increasing numbers. Dogs are where the people are, so it follows that the largest amount of dogs are in highly populous areas of Toronto — notably condos.

Each building has its own unique pet policies and many pride themselves on being petfriendly. Pet owners buy and live in condos.

They frequent local businesses and parks.

Their living spaces must be attractive for all members of the family.

People who live in condos tend to be busy urbanites — working long hours, or enjoying hobbies and social lives throughout the city, or starting new families. They seek out services to help them with responsible pet ownership. Some can’t-live-without services include dog-walking, grooming, and occasional doggy daycare.

As of 2013 (the most recent statistics found on the City of Toronto website), there were almost 55,000 dogs licensed in the City of Toronto. That number doesn’t even come close to covering the amount of dogs who aren’t officially licensed with the City.

As a city councillor in 2012, now local MP Adam Vaughan estimated that there are about seven dogs per floor in the CityPlace condo neighbourhood. In the same article, A Leg Up Pet Services told Torstar News Service 40 per cent of its clientele live in condos, a number that has boomed since their opening 16 years

24 CONDOBUSINESS | www.condobusiness.ca

ago, and continues to grow. (The ratio is even higher for the authors of this article, who run a dog-walking service.)

It’s becoming crucial for condo boards and property managers to accommodate the needs of owners and their pets to remain competitive as a desirable living space as the condo community thinks of creative ways to appeal to this group of people.

Extra services are a necessity for busy pet owners. Not only do these pet services help pet owners, they also make the lives of neighbours a lot easier. If a team of animal

GOVERNANCE

professionals help keep a dog happy and healthy, the whole building benefits. Many of the city’s residents are familiar with the sad sound of a barking dog locked up in a condo unit for too long. Access to pet care services helps ensure peaceful living in close proximity.

S o how c an c ond o b o ard s and management control these services, so that they keep up with the quality of other building services and amenities, and respect safety and community standards?

As noted above, each condo has its own pet policies and the biggest hurdle dogwalkers face in providing services to clients is inconsistency when it comes to building access. Almost all dog professionals need to be able to enter the condo building and individual unit. Individual unit keys are provided by the resident, and are used to pick up dogs for walking or grooming sessions.

There are three main ways a dog walker can gain access to the entrance of a condo building: 1) By buzzing in, which can be unreliable.

2) By acquiring a fob along with the unit key.

(This is the best option, but may be difficult or expensive for the resident to acquire.)

3) By waiting for someone to let them in/ building a relationship with the concierge to be let in daily, which is also unreliable due to staff changeover.

The elements that need to be considered here are safety, and efficient service. On the one hand, dog walkers need to be able to do their job efficiently as their work is extremely time-sensitive. Many companies require they receive a fob or else that won’t service that building. On the other hand, building security and concierges must make sure that the building’s security policies are being respected.

There is currently no one-size-fits-all solution to condo access for pet care professionals across the city. These professionals must know the condo rules, residents and their furry families, and work with clients and condo management to come to an agreement that works.

Ideally, condo boards and property managers develop policies that allow dog professionals to gain access and do their jobs as required by their clients (condo residents).

This also helps out the condo community as a whole, while ensuring that the overall condo security remains uncompromised and respects the needs of all residents.

Perhaps condos can make it easier for dog walking professionals to acquire fobs, as long as those professionals register with the condo and supply proof of insurance. If there’s enough interest in a particular community, condos could also look at offering a dogwalking service as part of condo fees.

That way, boards and management could contract out dog walking work to a preferred company, minimizing the number of professionals coming in and out of the building. Those dog walkers would know the building and its security policies really well.

As people continue to move downtown Toronto where condos are being built, they are bringing their dogs with them. Condo communities ought to consider how they can accommodate the professional services their pet owners rely on to help keep their dogs cared for during the day, for everyone’s peace of mind. 1 Em m a a n d G i l l e e n Witkows ki a re, respectively, head dog walker and owneroperator of Walk My Dog Toronto, which offers dog-walking services in downtown Toronto. They can be reached via their website: http://walkmydog.to/.

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GOVERNANCE

Let’s talk communication committees It’s one of the most common complaints in condos — poor communication from the board or

BY BRIAN BOSSCHER

management to owners. Complaints of “We don’t know what’s going on!” or “We are paying the bills and you keep us in the dark!” come up too often at AGMs or

special owner meetings. Poor communication can lead to frustrated owners, efforts to oust board members, and other unpleasant condo issues.

One way condo boards and managers can address these complaints is by setting up a communication committee. With the right people, tools and strategy, it’s possible to keep unit owners in the loop as to what’s happening in their community. Read on for best practices for both existing committees and communication newbies.

Establishing a communication committee Committees often get a bad rap for being

a forum that wastes time and gets nothing done, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Those establishing a communication committee for the first time should keep the following guidelines in mind. (Existing committees can use this list to check how theirs stacks up.)

For starters, bring together the right group of people. A committee should ideally have three to five people, with at least one board member and at least one person who has communications or PR experience at a

26 CONDOBUSINESS | www.condobusiness.ca

professional level. The other members need to be “doers” — folks who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

After establishing the right group of people, set clear goals for the committee and assign ownership of these goals to committee members. For example, maybe the committee’s goal is to send one newsletter per month, with a target of 60 per cent of owners viewing the newsletter online.

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GOVERNANCE the committee needs access to the right tools. It’s 2016, and a committee’s communication efforts and tools should reflect that.

Posting paper notices is a good start, but what about notifying owners via a text message, website, app, or automated phone call?

A modern communication platform, for example, will have reporting capabilities that show how often owners interact with announcements or other broadcasted messages. These tools allow a committee to measure results so it can adjust course as needed to meet its communication goals.

Procuring a digital platform Board members may wonder why they can’t simply send out materials through email, or set up a blog or basic website. They can take this approach, but they should consider privacy risks, compliance with Canada’s anti-spam legislation and continuity.

For example, it’s easy enough to mistakenly use “CC” instead of “BCC” when emailing hundreds of people, which floods the inboxes of recipients with replies. If a condo corporation does this, it could be held liable for privacy infractions from exposing owners’ contact information. A well-designed condo communication system (as opposed to regular email) will build in mechanisms that make it difficult to unintentionally expose private information to owners.

Introduced in 2015, Canada’s anti-spam legislation requires all email senders to properly identify the source of their message as well as have a working unsubscribe mechanism.

Most condo communication systems (or any email listmanagement systems) can automate this process.

It’s common for owners to volunteer to build a website for their community, which may be an appealing, low-cost option. However, what happens if the owner moves out, loses interest, or gets into a dispute with the board? The board will at least need to find a webmaster to maintain and update the site. In some cases, the board may have to take steps to regain control of the corporation’s website.

If the board opts to procure a digital communication platform with input from the communication committee, it should discuss the corporation’s requirements with reputable suppliers. Communication platforms are not easily comparable, so it’s advisable to see a demo before making a decision. Also ensure that the supplier is set up to support the corporation for the long term. Board members and volunteers will come and go, but its service provider should be ready to help bridge those transitions.

Making the most of online tools Many owners lead busy lives, so it follows that they don’t go to the corporation’s website for fun; they go for a specific reason.

Here are recommendations for driving website traffic and improving participation levels: Use it regularly! When there’s feedback that “people aren’t using the website as much as we’d like,” a quick investigation typically reveals that management has not posted any content for weeks or months. Posting notices, announcements and newsletters is a great way to drive traffic. If the committee sets a goal of posting content bi-weekly (at a minimum), owners will get into the habit of checking this communication channel and start to rely on it.

Do as much as possible through the website. If the corporation’s communication platform offers features such as service requests, amenity bookings, or self-service visitor parking registration, enable them. Most services also offer a library of some sort that can be used

to make available all condo documents, including the declaration, bylaws, rules, budgets and so on, which has the added benefit of saving the property manager time when owners request certain documents.

Ask owners for their email address at every opportunity. Many buildings have an incomplete or outdated list. The process of getting to 99 per cent takes time, but it’s worth it; the corporation will eventually be able to reach more owners and residents easily and frequently by email.

And don’t forget to keep offline owners in the loop. There are plenty of alternative communication methods outside of email, from digital displays in the lobby or mailroom to automated voice and text messages. A single, integrated platform reduces the need to maintain separate systems, contact lists and so forth.

Communication is a critical part of any happy, stable condo communit y. By setting up a communication committee, giving it the required tools, and ensuring it makes the most of those tools, a board can ensure unit owners receive the steady supply of information they desire. 1 Brian Bosscher is the president and founder of Condo Control Central, a leading Toronto - based company that provides web-based communication, management and security cloud solutions for condominiums of all sizes. He is also a former board member, having served more than 12 years as both treasurer and president. He can be reached by phone at 647-557-8479, or by email at brian@condocontrolcentral.com.

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SMART IDEAS

A new mobile app aimed at offering a window into the sale prices of homes in Toronto’s red-hot real estate market launched last month.

Price check On June 3, the Competition Tribunal ordered the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) to allow its member brokers to make certain data on its multiple listing service (MLS) available to the public online. Meanwhile, a new mobile app is crowdsourcing home sales information from consumers

RedDoor asks consumers to voluntarily input what they paid for their digs, the date of the transaction as well as the condition of their residence. In just three weeks, it had crowdsourced intel on more than 130,000 homes in neighbourhoods spanning the city, at price points ranging from $500,000 to $2-million. At press time, the developer was determining how best to visually integrate the 60,000 condo units in queue to be added to the app.

While RedDoor relies to some extent on an honour system — its data is not verified — the app’s algorithm guards against users inputting information that is obviously out of step with the normal price range for a neighbourhood.

Adrienne Scott, co-founder and CEO of RedDoor, says the app was inspired by her buying and selling experiences in Toronto after returning to her hometown following a stint living in the U.S. “Millennials in general are used to doing own research for things, and we (Scott and her husband) weren’t able to do that when we were trying to figure out comps for our house, or the houses that we were interested in,” she says. “So over time, we thought there has to be a way that this information can be shared amongst ourselves.”

In the city, the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) is the gatekeeper of most detailed home sales data. That may soon change, with the Competition Tribunal recently ruling against TREB over the way it restricts access to information available to registered agents via its multiple listing service (MLS).

One of the chief arguments that TREB made for protecting home sales details was the privacy of buyers and sellers. However, Scott says she believes people are willing to share information because everyone benefits from it. As an added incentive, RedDoor is donating one dollar for every complete entry of house data to a local charity in the neighbourhood in which the residence is located.

Eventually, Scott hopes to expand what data the app captures, including utilities, to show the complete cost of home ownership. She also hopes to grow its geographic reach from Toronto to Ontario to Canada wide.

For more information, visit www.reddoorapp.com.

30 CONDOBUSINESS | www.condobusiness.ca

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