Another apartment building in Sudbury is leaving seniors and people with disabilities isolated in their homes after eight months of elevator repair to a five-floor non-profit building called Centreville, located at 285 Lourdes Street.
But the 10 tenants that Sudbury.com has spoken with since we were first contacted about the building May 27 claim it's not just the elevator that is troubling them, but the changes to their building since Luxor Management took over around 2021.
The loss of the elevator, inoperable since Nov. 25 has left tenants, who are mostly seniors and people with disabilities, in the lurch.
One woman has a chronic disease which affects her joints and causes her great pain. She told Sudbury.com her symptoms have been greatly exacerbated by climbing five flights of stairs with her cane, especially struggling with her laundry or her groceries.
Another tenant told us she had surgery on her ankle four months ago. To get home from the hospital after, and to-and-from for four follow-up appointments, she needed to take an ambulance and have the paramedics perform a life assist, carrying her up and down the five flights of stairs each time.
Even those tenants physically capable of walking the stairs told Sudbury.com it’s a burden, and it prompts them to re-think outings or how they use their home: even to the point of avoiding using the outdoor spaces available.
But there are also other issues troubling the Centreville tenants: a lack of security and full use of their building.
There is a picnic table in the front of the building and a small area just off the third floor for use by the tenants, but they said the third floor area is often used by people who are homeless, sleeping in the small patio area. One tenant told us he often finds the door with a block inserted to hold it open so that others can gain entry.
As well, a small wooden ramp has been added to the doorway as the step down is larger than building codes; the ramp wobbled significantly when Sudbury.com stood on it, and the tenant said he had lost balance, going over on his ankle and falling to the ground.
All of the tenants we spoke with told us they have encountered non-tenants sleeping in the hallways and stairways, as well as urinating or defecating in garbage cans and hidden corners of the building.
Though there was no problem before the elevator stopped working, two tenants now say no delivery people will go to the apartments themselves. Packages and delivered groceries are left in the lobby and frequently stolen, said the tenants, and sometimes in just the time it takes them to make their way down the stairs.
The woman with a chronic condition had several packages stolen, and she told Sudbury.com she complained to Luxor on five separate occasions, the last one being July 23.
She received no reply whatsoever, she said, until she was being interviewed by Sudbury.com on our second visit Aug. 6, when Vaillancourt messaged to say he had been away, but had sent the security camera footage to the police.
A common room now blocked off, no access to a common washroom, constant security and cleanliness issues, as well as, they said, little to no communication with them. In fact, three of the tenants Sudbury.com spoke with accused the Luxor Management representative to their building of bullying and using coarse language.
Five tenants said that while notices are often posted to the elevator or to the office door, it is rare for them to receive notices from Luxor through their mailboxes or to their apartments.
Sudbury.com was first contacted by tenants at Centreville after our story on Bonik Tower, a 16-floor-apartment building with no working elevators. On May 26, we reached out to Luxor Management for more information and spoke with Centreville’s property manager, Corey Vaillancourt. He told Sudbury.com that the elevator was a pre-arranged replacement, and tenants were advised at the length of time it would be down, which was six months (which would be May.).
He said the elevator would be up by the end of the week we spoke with him in May, but as of Aug.7, the sole elevator is still inoperable.
Sudbury.com spoke with Vaillancourt again on Aug. 7.
He said the elevator would be operable by next week.
“We are waiting for one part for the fire sensor, something along those lines,” he said, before noting he wasn’t “really up” on the specific terms. “But we’ll have it up and running next week.”
As for the other issues the tenants mentioned, Vaillancourt said that all tenants receive a copy of all notices, in addition to their posting on each floor and hallway.
He told Sudbury.com the common room was being used for the elevator workers, both for storage and for rest, and would be returned to the tenants immediately after.
The washroom was re-keyed, he said, and informed Sudbury.com that all tenants had received a notice that a new key was available to them upon request.
“We've seen that a lot of homeless people were accessing the washrooms and not using them for the right uses, so therefore, we changed the locks,” said Vaillancourt. “And we told all the tenants to go down and just request a key, and we will gladly give them one.”
The tenants Sudbury.com spoke with were unaware of this information.
When asked if there were plans to add increased security measures to the building, Vaillancourt replied, “Honestly, we don't have the funds for that.”
Centreville itself is run by a board of directors, but funded by the City of Greater Sudbury, said city spokesperson, Sacha Novack.
“Centreville is a non-profit community housing building operated by its own Board of Directors,” said Novack in an email. “The city does not own or operate this site. I recommend reaching out to Centreville NP Housing directly.”
Sudbury.com did just that, emailing and calling the contact information listed on the city’s website.
The email was rejected and sent back after three attempts: “Your message couldn't be delivered to [email protected]. Their inbox is full, or it's getting too much mail right now.”
The phone number listed leads to Mallette-Goring, a real estate company in Sudbury whose website states it specializes in commercial leasing, investment sales and property management. The extension leads to a representative, who has yet to return Sudbury.com’s call.
There are six names listed as active directors for Centreville. We spoke with the first, David Cacciotti, who said he resigned from the board more than 10 years ago and was upset to learn he was still listed. Another active director died in 2024. Two others are in their 80s, at least, and one other is listed as living in the building, but the tenants Sudbury.com spoke with do not know her.
We requested the information from Vaillancourt, asking about the board and to whom he is reporting.
“I don't think I'm allowed to give you that information,” said Vaillancourt. “It's a volunteer role, and I work for them, and basically whatever they tell me, that's what we do for them.”
But that leaves the tenants still without an elevator, and to them, without answers.
“The only constant is that they ignore us,” said the tenant with chronic joint disease.
If you have an issue with the elevator or property standards at your building, please contact [email protected].
Jenny Lamothe covers vulnerable and marginalized populations, as well as housing issues and the justice system for Sudbury.com.