Glebe condo owners ask court to step in at building amid ‘turmoil’

Ron Prefasi, and his wife, Suzanne, are two of the private condominium owners behind the court case. They’re both condo board members. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIAArticle content

Unit owners in a Glebe condominium have asked a judge to appoint an independent administrator to take over its board, which they say is beset by political unrest, turmoil, hostility and mistrust.

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According to documents filed as part of the court application, the problem with the condo board stems from its unusual structure.

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Ottawa-Carleton Standard Condominium Corporation No. 758 is made up of 87 units in an Isabella Street building connected by a walkway to Villagia in the Glebe, a retirement residence.

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Seventy of the condo units are owned and rented out by a company, OML Residences Limited, which also has an ownership stake in Villagia. The other 17 units are privately held.

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The private owners contend the condominium corporation is being operated as if it was an “offshoot” of the neighbouring retirement home. “The affairs of the retirement residence have been intertwined with those of the condominium corporation,” the court application alleges.

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Ron Prefasi, and his wife, Suzanne, both former teachers, are two of the private condominium owners behind the court case. They’re both condo board members.

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Prefasi contends the company, through its control of the condo board, has suppressed the value of the privately-owned condos by perpetuating an unfair system of fees.

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That system means the Prefasis pay more than $3,000 a month in fees — more than $36,000 a year.

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“This is just wrong,” Ron Prefasi, 76, says when asked why he’s taken the issue to court. “I guess we were radicals in our younger days, Suzanne and I, and we’re not afraid of a fight.”

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The condo building on Isabella Street in the Glebe has 87 units and is connected by a walkway to Villagia in the Glebe, left. Seventy of the condo units are owned and rented out by a company, OML Residences Limited. The other 17 units are privately held. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIAArticle content

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The court application contends the condominium corporation is in a state of crisis and requires the appointment of both an administrator and an inspector to manage its affairs and to ensure provincial rules related to financial management and record keeping are being followed.

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Given the condo’s dysfunction, the applicants argue, the appointment of two outside officials is “the only viable option to restore its affairs and operations to a sense of normalcy.”

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The allegations contained in the court documents have not been proven in court, and a date for a hearing on the application has not been set.

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Jean-François Dodin, a condo board member who represents OML Residences, said the company was in the process of preparing a written response to the allegations, which would be filed in court.