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Dockside Commons, Tower A2-2 is a 19-storey condominium tower on Esquimalt Road at Tyee Road part of the Dockside Green development in the City of Victoria's Vic West neighbourhood.
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I am an owner in Dockside Green Tower 2. There are several building issues yet resolved under warranty that BOSA is not repairing. Buyer beware here are some outstanding issues.
* there are issues with the in suite mechanical ventilation systems.
* the in suite dryer vent runs are long and are clogging rapidly as an in line booster filter was not installed. BOSA's response was to tell Strata to have the building dryer vents cleaned multiple times a year which is very costly.
* the building has a hydronic heating system, meaning there is water in piping running throughout the floors and ceilings. The idea is as the suite owner adjusts their in suite thermometers, and water is drawn to the in suite heaters in the living room and bedrooms. Unfortunately, the buildings system is difficult to balance, with some suites not getting enough heat and others getting too much. The bylaw language which BOSA provided strata as a starting point prohibits heat pumps so residents are either cold or more likely overheating. In either case the thermostats are essentially useless. Not a lot of fun with summer approaching.
* it can take up to two minutes to obtain hot water to the taps, resulting in extremely high energy bills. BOSA blames strata yet it appears this is a result of a poorly operating water deliver system.
* BOSA advertises the building including that each parking stall is pre wired for EV adaptor installation. What they don't tell you is that should an owner wish to have the ready to go adaptor installed, the price is $12,500 per parking stall. Every EV company I have spoken with tells me this price is beyond price gauging.
* The Pet Spaw is shown in walk throughs and seems like a really cool common area for a building. BOSA gave us the keys to the condos in Sept/2023, and has not opened the Pet Spaw but has let all owners know this room has to be booked in advance and will be $10 per use. This was not mentioned in the walk throughs, but was billed as a way to keep the building clean as we could wash down our dogs after walks. Not quite.
* at least 9 of the tempered glass panels on the decks have shattered and fallen on decks and the ground beneath. Glass panels are meant to have spacing between them but one can clearly see some of the panels are touching and there is construction debris in the tracks the glass is housed in.
I can't think of one building issue that has been dealt with on first warranty request. Everything is a fight and a battle despite the building being brand new.
Great location, great potential. Future buyers should wait for the issues to get fixed before buying, just my advice.
Did the rental reach occupancy this year, Boom?
Yes suites are renting now.
I am an owner in Dockside Green Tower 2. There are several building issues yet resolved under warranty that BOSA is not repairing. Buyer beware here are some outstanding issues.
* there are issues with the in suite mechanical ventilation systems.
* the in suite dryer vent runs are long and are clogging rapidly as an in line booster filter was not installed. BOSA's response was to tell Strata to have the building dryer vents cleaned multiple times a year which is very costly.
* the building has a hydronic heating system, meaning there is water in piping running throughout the floors and ceilings. The idea is as the suite owner adjusts their in suite thermometers, and water is drawn to the in suite heaters in the living room and bedrooms. Unfortunately, the buildings system is difficult to balance, with some suites not getting enough heat and others getting too much. The bylaw language which BOSA provided strata as a starting point prohibits heat pumps so residents are either cold or more likely overheating. In either case the thermostats are essentially useless. Not a lot of fun with summer approaching.
* it can take up to two minutes to obtain hot water to the taps, resulting in extremely high energy bills. BOSA blames strata yet it appears this is a result of a poorly operating water deliver system.
* BOSA advertises the building including that each parking stall is pre wired for EV adaptor installation. What they don't tell you is that should an owner wish to have the ready to go adaptor installed, the price is $12,500 per parking stall. Every EV company I have spoken with tells me this price is beyond price gauging.
* The Pet Spaw is shown in walk throughs and seems like a really cool common area for a building. BOSA gave us the keys to the condos in Sept/2023, and has not opened the Pet Spaw but has let all owners know this room has to be booked in advance and will be $10 per use. This was not mentioned in the walk throughs, but was billed as a way to keep the building clean as we could wash down our dogs after walks. Not quite.
* at least 9 of the tempered glass panels on the decks have shattered and fallen on decks and the ground beneath. Glass panels are meant to have spacing between them but one can clearly see some of the panels are touching and there is construction debris in the tracks the glass is housed in.
I can't think of one building issue that has been dealt with on first warranty request. Everything is a fight and a battle despite the building being brand new.
Great location, great potential. Future buyers should wait for the issues to get fixed before buying, just my advice.
For context, could you advise how much you spend on energy bills related to the hot water issue?
I am an owner in Dockside Green Tower 2. There are several building issues yet resolved under warranty that BOSA is not repairing. Buyer beware here are some outstanding issues.
* there are issues with the in suite mechanical ventilation systems.
* the in suite dryer vent runs are long and are clogging rapidly as an in line booster filter was not installed. BOSA's response was to tell Strata to have the building dryer vents cleaned multiple times a year which is very costly.
* the building has a hydronic heating system, meaning there is water in piping running throughout the floors and ceilings. The idea is as the suite owner adjusts their in suite thermometers, and water is drawn to the in suite heaters in the living room and bedrooms. Unfortunately, the buildings system is difficult to balance, with some suites not getting enough heat and others getting too much. The bylaw language which BOSA provided strata as a starting point prohibits heat pumps so residents are either cold or more likely overheating. In either case the thermostats are essentially useless. Not a lot of fun with summer approaching.
* it can take up to two minutes to obtain hot water to the taps, resulting in extremely high energy bills. BOSA blames strata yet it appears this is a result of a poorly operating water deliver system.
* BOSA advertises the building including that each parking stall is pre wired for EV adaptor installation. What they don't tell you is that should an owner wish to have the ready to go adaptor installed, the price is $12,500 per parking stall. Every EV company I have spoken with tells me this price is beyond price gauging.
* The Pet Spaw is shown in walk throughs and seems like a really cool common area for a building. BOSA gave us the keys to the condos in Sept/2023, and has not opened the Pet Spaw but has let all owners know this room has to be booked in advance and will be $10 per use. This was not mentioned in the walk throughs, but was billed as a way to keep the building clean as we could wash down our dogs after walks. Not quite.
* at least 9 of the tempered glass panels on the decks have shattered and fallen on decks and the ground beneath. Glass panels are meant to have spacing between them but one can clearly see some of the panels are touching and there is construction debris in the tracks the glass is housed in.
I can't think of one building issue that has been dealt with on first warranty request. Everything is a fight and a battle despite the building being brand new.
Great location, great potential. Future buyers should wait for the issues to get fixed before buying, just my advice.
Thanks for this. I am also one of the owners of the new buildings and have dealt with some of the issues you have stated. Luckily, some of them have been addressed but it has felt like pulling teeth to get Bosa to even repsond to an issue when it arises.
I also can say that I feel ripped off about some of the building amenities like the pet spaw. They billed it as an amenity for all to use. When we first moved in it was closed and we were told it would be "opening soon" with no mention of the impending user fees. I was excited to wash my pet after a rainy walk for example but now they require you to book it in advance and pay by cheque. It is a laughable system that cannot be used without planning weeks in advance.
With this all said, I am very happy with the purchase and there are certain amenities I am quite happy with (the gym and roof as examples) but it is alway dissappointing when you are misled.
I am an owner in Dockside Tower II as well and I've purchased many pre-sales over the years from Chard, Concert, the other Bosa (I have two units at Encore and one at Promontory), etc., and most buildings have growing pains in the first couple of years. I personally live in the Encore (by the other Bosa) and we have surface to air heatpumps that had leaks in the first few years but once it was all ironed out (and it took a while) it is had been solid since. On the other hand the Promontory has issues with the chiller for the A/C to this day, 10 years after completion.
In my Dockside unit I've had a few false water sensor alarms and such I had to alter the tenant about, but on the whole I wouldn't say Bosa has been better or worse than any of the other reputable developers I've dealt with in the past.
I am still waiting on a new fridge panel 7 months later, but such is life, I don't lose sleep over it.
Overall, I am happy with the purchase.
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