@yakuh Continuing our discussion. I have been living in Westlake 1 since Feb 2015. Our unit is owned by a relative, so although we don't technically own it, it feels sort of like we do. We were one of the first occupants - the place was pretty much empty for the first couple of months!
Before I give my opinion I should mention that I was born in Toronto and grew up living in detached houses. I also lived for ~1 year in a cityplace condord tower on telegram mews and ~2 years in a low rise apartment. I also have some experience in a tridel building built in the 1980's which my dad lives in. I am also a perfectionist and very sensitive to noise, etc.
With that as a reference I would say the onni building is slightly better than the others in some areas, and slightly worse in other areas. Here's the breakdown:
Elevators
- Onni has 5 elevators in Phase 1 which is much better than Cityplace which had only 3 elevators. There is often one or two elevators out of service though and it seems there are people often waiting for the elevator. I think this is typical for new buildings, unfortunately, as you mentioned. My dad's 1980's tridel building has 4 elevators and approx 26 floors and the elevators there are fantastic. They were recently redone though, so things could have been worse before.
Plumbing
- The plumbing has been very good in Westlake - no temperature fluctuations, good water pressure, etc. My dad's Tridel building has some major issues with temperature regulation and water pressure.
Floods
- There was one flood in Westlake 1 that I'm aware of, in the 2+ years I've been here and it looked minor to me. Compared to 2 major floods in the Cityplace building (with water gushing down the stairwell) in the ~1 year I lived there, I would say Onni's record is much better.
Alarms
- At Westlake, there were a lot of false alarms in the first 6 months or so, due to sprinklers going off accidentally. They fixed those issues and alarms have been under control since then. In the cityplace building, the alarms were more frequent even though the building was older. The worst was an alarm at 5am on Christmas Day. That was the last straw for me.
Insulation
- At first we had major issues with cold air entering the unit in the winter. We are on a lower floor, so the 'stack effect' is partly to blame. Under the warranty we had onni come several times to add extra insulation and sealing to the exterior and they have largely solved the issue. We never had a problem getting them to come and look at / fix things. Any remaining issues are due to the design of the building. Our unit has a wraparound balcony and after doing research I now fully understand the issues with this design. The concrete balconies basically act like radiator fins - drawing in the cold during the winter, and heat in the summer. Most units don't have a wraparound balcony so shouldn't be as much of a problem.
Noise
- I discovered this has a lot to do with who your neighbours are, and less to do with the building. I heard nothing in cityplace but I think my neighbours must've been quiet because other people complained about noise in the same building. In Westlake I definitely hear noise from my neighbours from time to time (when they are blasting music, I can hear it slightly through the walls). I can hear the toilet flushing upstairs. I can't hear people talking though. It is MUCH better here than when I was living in the low rise apartment which did not have concrete between units. I could hear everything there, including conversations.
Finishes
- You are correct, the finishes are basic. Onni also did not offer much in terms of customization - we had the choice of "A" or "B". I believe this is done to save costs. On the up side, there are no units with 'odd' combinations like I've seen in other buildings where purchasers think they can play designer.
- There were a few minor cracks and chips in the interior and onni promptly fixed these to our satisfaction.
Amenities
- They are amazing, best I've seen in Toronto.
- Love the retail shops downstairs, the convenience is really great.
Overall the experience has been good enough for me to buy a unit in Encore. However I am not expecting perfection.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
