Charlie Condos, Toronto Condo Reviews 

Hey Portia, A few points on what you are saying below: 1) You are right in that there have been elevator issues ongoing for a long time. Every building in Toronto and surrounding has been experiencing the same thing. Read any newspaper article and you will find a wealth of information on this topic. Charlie is not alone in this respect. If you look at Shangri La (MAJOR issues), Bond Condos (MAJOR issues), Spire, 650 King West, 95 Bathurst, 55 Stewart (to name a few!) they are all experiencing very similar elevator issues, as well as a slew of condos on the Harborfront. Elevator service providers have royally sucked in this respect, so Charlie is not alone. If you were to look to rent in any other building in the GTA you would find very similar issues and would experience the same level of frustration (yah, it’s frustrating, but that’s condo life!). This is what you get when you live in a building where people ride elevators all day, every day. They go through wear and tear and sadly Builders go for the lowest bidder when it comes to elevator building, maintenance and service, so this building is by far not alone in this respect. Please educate yourself before throwing out things and thinking that Charlie is alone in this respect. All condos in the GTA have the same. 2) As a renter/tenant, you are not entitled to the same rights as an owner, who is a shareholder. You are not as you do not own a percentage of the corporation. You pay rent to your landlord. It is your landlord (who is a shareholder) and who is responsible for reading and educating themselves (and tenants) on ongoing issues and communicating them accordingly. They can attend meetings, ask for minutes, attend Annual General Meetings or vote by proxy. They can vote as they own a percentage. As a renter, you don’t have these rights as you don’t own. If you wish to exercise your rights, perhaps you should purchase so you can also act accordingly and be involved in meetings and decisions. Just a suggestion. As a renter, you cannot do so as you are not a shareholder in a corporation so blanket statement: You do not have the same rights. This is how ALL corporations work. You own shares, you can attend meetings. It’s actually pretty simple. If you don’t like the building, perhaps consider moving to another building and you will experience other frustrations, I’m sure. 3) Regarding any contracts, before making any assumptions, did it ever occur to you (other than here say) from your neighbour that any major service provider (property management, security, cleaning service providers) go through a proper tendering process? If your neighbour (or landlord) read any of the minutes of any meetings, you would then begin to understand that this board member you state as to having not more than an arms length involvement removed themselves from any decision-making whatsoever? It’s been minuted and documented everywhere, in each package, letter, Annual General Meeting that is sent out to all owners (I have attended meetings and have heard this time and time again due to reasons of legitimacy). Perhaps if your neighbour-friend read the minutes or attended meetings and listened, this may have registered in their mind as it’s been documented everywhere, but I can see how that’s an easy fact to ignore to create "talk". I am a unit owner, myself, and understand this without having any preconceived notions or opinions about things. It’s unfortunate you feel so and have stated such without knowing all the facts. Perhaps if every unit holder would read all documentation and attend meetings (for instance, each and every Annual General Meeting) your opinion (or your neighbour’s) would not be so skewed as there was complete disclosure on all behalves without being secretive about anything. Before throwing out accusations and being involved in building gossip, get to know the facts and ask about minutes and disclosure. Everyone is entitled to run a business (we all live in a corporate world!) and by being considered for a contract there is still a proper process with several different vendors coming to the table (I’ve lived in condos a long time, served on a board myself and understand how bidding processes work). If you were running a business, I'm sure you'd be happy to pitch things to a building you reside in! It was with due diligence and knowledge of conflict of interest for the said board member to recuse themselves from any involvement with any decisions during the tender process. Perhaps it was the other board members who actually made this decision by price and a solid offer package?? Did this thought ever cross your or your neighbours’ mind, or were facts just ignored because it's something interesting to talk about? Seems like a hot topic that a lot talk about by ignoring things that have been minuted and documented. Maybe before throwing someone under the gun get to know the facts instead of sheer gossip.

This condo is absolutely awful, and what makes it worse is the potential it has to be great. PROS: - Actually has pretty well-designed unit floor plans. - Building has been well-maintained and is still showy. - Has great amenities: good gym, nice steam room, nice pool deck (but the fireside lounge has been broken since the condo was built and you can never go in there). - Great location: Close to grocery, entertainment, harbourfront, cycle paths, and financial district. CONS: Make sure you're well hydrated - this is going to take a while. - The elevators are always broken. Not often, not sometimes, always. I think I have received on average, 3 e-mails every single day over the last 18 months about what status the elevators have. There are four, and in the last 6 months, there was at least one day when none were working. Fortunately, since the pool deck flooded and leaked into the elevator shaft, there is a remote hope that the insurance company will actually do something about it. - Security is a joke. We pay someone to sit behind a desk and accept packages, phone us when food is being delivered, and manage the guest parking, but mostly they are there to enforce inane rules (no strollers allowed on the outdoor deck on the 7th floor, I guess parents have to carry their kids the whole time), but not actually provide security. Our building's outdoor bicycle rack has video surveillance and yet bikes and parts are stolen every single week. Security does nothing. Security also doesn't help with other rules, like the prohibition on throwing things off of balconies. - Throwing things off of balconies is a huge problem: You can expect a hailstorm of cigarette butts (on fire) to ignite your patio furniture (I've lost 3 chairs already) as well as damaging all the furniture on the pool deck, condoms being dropped, and the building across the street has had to board up their sky lights because people were throwing rocks off their balconies to shatter the windows below. For a while, there was a person who vomited off their balcony for several weeks spreading rivulets of vomit down several storeys of windows and balconies. There are a lot of true scum living in the building and security does nothing whatsoever about it, no matter how many letters you write, or photographs you send. (FYI, it is very easy to figure out exactly which unit is responsible for repeatedly vomiting down the side of the building - you just follow the vomit trail up and *mystery solved*!) - The lot across the road has now been sold and construction will begin summer 2019. This will eradicate all of the already meager sunlight the building had, and will mean people across the road will be looking directly into your unit - it is very close. Also, the air pollution is going to be godawful while construction takes place over the next couple of years. Concrete dust coats everything and even cleaning windows on a weekly basis will be insufficient. When the building perpendicular to us was going up, we couldn't go outside all summer long, and all our plants died from the air pollution. Our patio furniture had so much construction dirt on it, it took 6 hours to clean it. - Windows: The windows are excellent insulated glass and don't conduct heat or cold, but the frames for the windows are metal, and they get so freezing in the winter that frost forms indoors, then melts, and then slowly rots away the particle board frames the windows are mounted on, creating black mold. The condo's policy on windows: To prevent humidity, in the middle of winter, keep your sliding doors wide open for 10 minutes per day and that will draw the humidity out. Personally, I would suggest getting better frames, but what do I know, I just live here. - Board seems to be corrupt. As a renter, I am not permitted to have any representation on the board, nor may I receive information about condo board meetings, however I have noticed that our condo services have been getting worse and worse every year, and learned from my neighbour (who is an owner) that last year our condo hired a cleaning company that let's just say, does not have an arm's length relationship with one of the members of the board. As such, I feel that the Board or its members are not acting ethically and have at least one conflict of interest. - Lastly - no barbecues allowed on balconies. This one miffs me because the building across the laneway has barbecues on every balcony and yet we're not allowed to have them. In conclusion: If you are the kind of scum that likes vomiting over your balcony, or throwing combustibles onto other people, really likes climbing stairs, and enjoys stealing bicycles without being caught because security does nothing about it - this is a great building for you!

Charlie condos are located at King and Spadina, very good location, many shops in the area. There is a grocery store in the next building underneath and also LCBO. The building is very straight-forward, all glass, nothing special about it, no outstanding architecture details, floor-to-ceiling windows. A positive aspect is that there are no buildings directly blocking the views. You'd get some vies from all the views. A very nice lobby, very modern - different from the outside. It has nice marble details. Units appear to be on the smaller side. It has all the common elements including a swimming pool and a large gym located on the 7th floor - it has everything.

This modern condo has a very spacious and beautiful entrance area with a fire-place and a lot of various facilities in the middle of the building including a gym overseeing Toronto. You live directly in the downtown core just steps away to stores, night clubs and restaurants. There is a LCBO store just across the street.

It is 30 seconds away from a King street car stop - very convenient location. The condo has Aroma Espresso coffee shop on the street level - definitively a benefit if you like grabbing a fresh coffee in the morning. A very bright unit with huge windows. My guests love the city views.

Very centrally located, at King and Spadina. It has an extensive set of facilities including a swimming pool - everything is located on the seventh floor. A very nice city view when you are exercising - it adds additional motivation. :-)

I'll make this quick... I've been living here with my bf for almost 2 years now and this building is honestly such a joke....

-4 elevators (only 2 go to every single floor, the other 2 stop at 6 and one of the lower rise elevators shuts off @ 9pm)
-one of the elevators is ALWAYS broken, there is always an issue and Thyssen is back and forth working on it
-Every quarter they clear everyone from the entire garage (6 floors) from 8-6pm and do a cleaning. Honestly, I grew up in a condo and never did this happen so frequently. There are so many other issues in the building to spend our $$ on
-The walls are thin, if your neighbour is drilling or using a hammer, you'll hear it.
- A default place comes with sliding doors (and they're problematic)
-Zero counter space in the bathroom, like there, actually isn't a counter.
-Rooms are laid out very weird - we're in a 2 bed 2 bath and you would need to have a twin bed in each room (yup, including the master) just to have some real space... very strange
-No window treatments on the windows, but i guess that's to be expected
-Tub has half doors as well... default condo
-Overall, other than location and garage parking and not too difficult visitor parking. I probably wouldn't live here. I'm a driver and its close to the highway and people can come over and get a spot (if they're early enough) but overall the building was poorly constructed and the mgmt company is a joke. They've already switched it twice (Security at least 3 times) for cheaper and crappier companies

Located just east of Spadina Charlie is the sister building to The Hudson next door by Great Gulf Homes. Registered in 2013 and designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects & Cecconi Simone Inc this building has many liked features by residents. The south and east views are the best especially the south-east corner. Amenities galore and close to the financial district with TTC at your door.

Bad: Building not well constructed; very thin walls and noise travels throughout an entire floor. The building is primarily tenanted by young people who tend to blast music for hours at a time. Unlike other buildings in Toronto, this tends to go on well after midnight on the weekends. There are 9 units per floor. Good: If your condo is west facing and you live on a high floor you have the best-unobstructed views in the city.