Toronto condo gym ceiling suddenly collapses, leaving residents on edge
CBC
Residents of a high-rise apartment and townhouse complex along St. Clair Avenue West are raising safety concerns about the integrity of their home after the ceiling to their shared gym collapsed.
A post on Reddit shows pictures of what appear to be the gym located at Reunion Crossing at 1808 St. Clair Ave. W. with its ceiling caved in on Wednesday night.
Jordan Patel told CBC Toronto he and his roommates moved in that same day and were told by security that the gym ceiling broke apart.
"Is this going to happen to our place too?" Patel said in an interview.
According to the developer's website, construction for the building was taking place as recently as last December, with the groundbreaking for the project in 2020.
Patel says he and his two roommates' rent comes to about $3,200 a month. Split three ways for their 3-bedroom unit and access to amenities like the gym, he considered the rate affordable in today's tight rental market.
"I guess it came with a price," said Patel.
A spokesperson for the building developer, Diamond Kilmer Developments, told CBC News in an email that their engineers "continue to advise that there is no concern as to the structural integrity of the building or the residential units."
"However, out of an abundance of caution, our common areas will remain closed pending further investigation into the failure of a design feature in the ceiling of the fitness facility. "
Resident Subin Lee says she learned about the collapsed gym ceiling through a TikTok post.
"It's scary to be in a building that this happened to, for sure. And even my friends and family were worried," said Lee.
"When it happened, it wasn't like quite shocking, which is disappointing."
Ritik Sharma, who moved into the building in June, says he found out about the ceiling through a resident group chat. When he went to go see the gym for himself the next day, he said no one was allowed in.
He says he hasn't heard anything about the incident from the building's management team, but is waiting to see how the situation gets resolved.