no-frills - a grocery store chain owned by (sort of - more on this a little later) loblaw's, moved into the mantra building at 1680 west 4th ave, vancouver just short of two years ago, and ever since that time my neighbours and i have learned to hate the grocery store nestled below us.
for a year and a half (ish) before no-frills moved in below (owned by alfnesh baran), we had a pretty good life going here. it was quiet with just the usual noises you would expect living in the city. we, my neighbours who - like me - live on the backside of the building, heard garbage trucks collecting trash, binners in the alley collecting bottles, cars, etc. what we didn't hear was 40 ft. trailers being unloaded at all hours. then came no-frills. and alfie. and really, before alfie's name even made its way to our ears, we heard him coming.
alfie's no-frills rents the commercial space in the mantra building from marco properties which is owned in part by michelle corday (also of westbank projects) and her uncle michael. no-frills decided they wanted an elevator put in for their customers to use to get from the parking garage to the store. once that work started we were subject to over four months of drilling and coring to accommodate the new elevator shaft. add to that many more months of hammering and drilling while they built and re-fit the space downstairs for the incoming requirements of the no-frills, and we had nearly a year of construction below us that started every day at 7 a.m. and often went past 7 p.m.
add to that the fact that to get to our secured parking two levels below we had to navigate garbage from construction and its workers and pallets of work materials it made for a less than great life at the building.
i have to admit that i was happy to know there would be a grocery store so close to home - literally below me. but shortly after it opened my happiness turned to anger. trucks below unloaded in the loading bay in the back often before 6 a.m. all days of the week, pallet jacks running up and down metal ramps until late in the evening, carts with hard wheels moving along the floors that were and are so noisy you can follow their path as they move from the back warehouse area of the store to the front. banging, clanging and other unknown noises come at all hours.
we have tried, very politely to address the issues but have been met with, amongst other things, disdain, questioning of whether there really is any noise at all, visits from michelle corday and her uncle, alfie and various others who feel it's 'all within reason'. alfie has done some glad-handing but really shows very little concern for the nosie he and his business makes below us.
the noise below has caused one owner to out her condo up for sale and will in the end lose approx. 50K when she finally does sell. if she can sell it. who wants to buy a condo that has a bad neighbour below it?
our building management company has listened to our complaints but had proved toothless in the end. we have suggested thin matting for the floors in the warehouse to reduce the vibration through the cement flooring, replacing the wheels on the carts with softer wheels, more spray on insulation on the ceiling, adding a drop ceiling, etc. all to fall on deaf ears.
they just don't care.
and beyond that - loblaw's doesn't care either.
we have sent emails to loblaw's (that will be posted in future posts) and the replies have stated that while they do own the no-frills name, they are not responsible for the actions of the stores themselves. they wish they could help but it's really out of their hands. sorry.
so in the meantime we are subject to continual noise every day and often nights until after 11:30 pm - while the store itself closes at 9 pm. we have suffered more break-ins since they opened their doors as it's easier now for thieves to get into the underground - gates that they have control over, that were never suppose to open before 8 a.m. have often been open at 6 a.m. and closed later than 11 p.m. leaving an wide open door for thieves.
also the underground parking area is a dirty, eyesore that never seems to get cleaned up or the floors power-washed.
again, alfie just doesn't care.
we have sent email after email after email and to no end. aflie never responds to emails, and has no intention of doing anything to make the lives of the ones above him any better - or at the very least try and make our lives as they were before he got there.
we will be posting the emails that have been sent back and forth to help illustrate the problems we are having in the hopes something gets done and also to show that we are not making any of this up.
regards.
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