Some Calgary tenants say building's facelift leaves them vulnerable to thieves

Elaine Haynes says she and her neighbours have been living a construction nightmare for months as their building in Calgary's Beltline undergoes a major exterior facelift.

The reported problems at Panorama Court are many: extremely loud noise, limited light and airflow into their suites, intruders scaling the scaffolding to steal items from balconies and suites — and, in some cases, a 30 per cent rent hike.

"As tenants, we are dealing with a lot. People with health issues are disrupted. Children, pets are disrupted. It's been traumatizing," said Haynes.

The building's owner, Great West Life Realty Advisors, began construction last fall. It's removing the brick exterior at 617 15th Ave. S.W. and replacing it with energy-efficient cladding.

Those living on the building's north side have lost access to their balconies and are allowed to open their patio doors only a few inches for airflow. On the south side, some tenants' windows are covered but tenants can use their patios. 

Elaine's daughter, Stephanie Haynes, also lives in the building. She says her windows were boarded up at one point and her patio is still inaccessible.

"We were just kind of living in like dark, airless caves for a while there. So, yeah, a few anxiety attacks during that period, I would say," the daughter said.

GWL told CBC News in an email the older property is undergoing significant work to address the structural integrity of the building envelope to ensure the health and safety of residents as mandated by city regulations. The company said access is limited for the safety of the tenants.

"We recognize that building construction is disruptive to our residents and have made several accommodations to mitigate the impact of the construction," the email read.

According to the company, the work is targeted to wrap up in September.

Disruptions aside, Elaine Haynes says her biggest concern is the ability of thieves to breach a perimeter security fence and access balconies.

"They get up inside the scaffolding behind the netting and they go up. There's ladders, and so like they're, they're going all the way up to the top floor looking for things to steal," said Haynes.

Haynes says her daughter's partner snapped a photo of an intruder outside her window hauling a stolen bike down the scaffolding. 

In another instance, a laptop was stolen from an apartment when the thief reached through the little gap in the balcony and pulled it off a table.