Done Deal

Members of Dovercourt Housing Co-op in Ottawa’s west end knew their 32-year-old co-op needed some work done. But it wasn’t until they received an updated Building Condition Assessment that they realized how many issues had to be dealt with.

The 40-unit co-op had a retaining wall that resembled Niagara Falls and required immediate fixing. A number of kitchens and bathrooms were slated for improvements. And the co-op needed a repaint. That was just for starters.

The self-managed co-op needed help prioritizing and reached out to its local federation, CHASEO. CHASEO put the co-op in touch with CHF Canada’s David Spackman, Program Manager for Asset Management Services. David helped the co-op make sense of its BCA and arranged for project management of its exterior paint job.

Dave has been marvellous helping our co-op understand what work needs to get done and the plan to do it. He presented the asset management plan to our membership, was extremely patient answering our many questions and helped get our members all on the same page. - Nancy Edsell, a member of Dovercourt Co-op, Ottawa, ON

The co-op is now considering CHF Canada’s Refinancing Program as a way to speed up the many projects left to do. Soon, that long to-do list will be a thing of the past!