The home of Joel Winegarden looks like it would for any parent of a young child.
Crayon drawings are decorate walls and toys have been left in the living room. Kids' books and board games line shelves, and achievements from school are stuck on the fridge.
The two-bedroom apartment is where Winegarden lives as a single parent with his seven-year-old son, who has autism. But during a major renovation to the building that has stretched on for months, Winegarden says his home is no longer a peaceful place for a child to live.
“Things have got to be a certain way for him. Bedtime gets screwed up, the way that his room is gets screwed up, the noise, it’s scary. He's covering his ears and becoming dysregulated because of the constant noise. It's fine when he's at school, but he doesn't have a safe place to come home to.”
Winegarden and his son live at Copper Mountain Court, a 37-unit, three building affordable housing complex in Nelson's Rosemont neighbourhood operated by Nelson CARES.
Renovations started by PAC West Construction Group (which has offices in Kelowna and Vancouver, and is not the same company as Nelson-based Pacific West Builders) in the fall of 2024 are meant to revitalize the 24-year-old development.
But the construction has become unbearable for a number of tenants, who say it is unorganized and disrupting their lives.
The Nelson Star spoke to multiple residents who shared stories of extreme noise, disregard for tenants' privacy, work left unfinished or poorly done, and broken personal items. There were also several examples given of unsafe work conditions, such as unidentified fumes and uninstalled windows left in hallways. In one video viewed by the Star, debris can be seen falling from a scaffolding over an entrance.
The $10.7-million project, funded by B.C. Housing, is extensive. Each building's envelope will be almost entirely replaced, and as will the complex's natural gas usage in favour of electric hot water systems, HVAC upgrades that include the introduction of air conditioning, ventilation improvements and electrical infrastructure enhancements. Nelson CARES says the work is expected to be complete in early 2026.
On the day a Star reporter visited Winegarden's home, workers had left the sliding door to his balcony uninstalled and leaning against a wall. Outside, the balcony now faced scaffolding with no railing and no work underway. Winegarden said he was stressed by having his son near the space and hadn't been told when the balcony would be completed.
“Making people live through this is just inhumane," said Winegarden.
The majority of people interviewed by the Star requested anonymity out of fear that criticism of Nelson CARES could result in losing their homes. Some residents at Copper Mountain Court live with health-care issues, including physical impairments, mental-health needs and substance-use disorders, and said they can't afford to live anywhere else in Nelson's expensive housing market.
Nelson CARES housing director Joanne Motta said she was disappointed tenants had voiced complaints to the Star instead of taking them to the property manager. Motta provided examples of information previously handed out to tenants that included estimated timelines, the property manager's contact information and how complaints would be received and addressed. Nelson CARES also hosted an information session for tenants on Jan. 31.
“It’s just important to point out that we have been absolutely working to address every single concern that comes in," said Motta.
"[Tenants] ultimately want the work to stop, which is not practical at this point in the project, but every single concern has been addressed and is addressed. It might not be the answer they want, which is ‘we want the project to stop,’ but we definitely are trying to work with people on any of the concerns that are brought forward.”
Motta said Nelson CARES has already relocated one tenant at Copper Mountain Court and made similar offers to others, which were declined. There are also two vacant units that can be used, she said, as well as a furnished amenity room.
“Once the renovations are complete, mostly everybody will be probably quite happy. ... It's just getting to that point can be disruptive and loud, and renovations aren't usually very quiet.”
"It really put me over the edge"
The renovations have been anything but quiet in the unit shared by Amy Makortoff and her two teenage daughters.
Makortoff's living room has a large window that looks over scaffolding where workers routinely pass by. She said there's no sound barrier, and she's heard people standing outside her washroom window.
Every construction site is loud, but tenants say the noise at Copper Mountain Court is unacceptable. Makortoff, who suffers from migraines, says she has been trying to do online schooling from home but can't due to all the noise. In a video provided to the Star, the sound of outside construction can be heard blaring into the walls of Makortoff's home.
"I'm grateful to have a house to live in, I’m not ungrateful for that, but it still doesn't mean that I am allowed to not have my basic human rights of quiet and peace and privacy. So that’s where that line is for me.”
Like other residents, she's been asked to move furniture in anticipation of work that never happens. When workers do come in to the small units, they've had to step on furniture and left debris over personal belongings.
“Nobody wants to live here because they want to live here," she said. "We're all not doing great in life to be here, or struggling or trying to get somewhere. So it feels a bit like we've just kind of been treated like lesser people with lesser rights because we live here. I just feel like no one would do this or get away with what they're getting away with here if it was just a regular apartment building.”
Lexi Campese has lived at Copper Mountain Court for a year with her two children, one of whom has anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder and struggles with the noise.
Campese said it has been a constant effort to find quiet spaces as the construction goes on six days a week.
“It’s incredibly loud and non-stop. I’m so torn between it being normal for renovations, but also I’m still paying my full amount of rent. I can’t even go outside.”
Last month Campese had been told workers would be visiting her unit to remove drywall. But the day before it was to be done, she arrived home to discover workers had come into her unit early to do the job. They left behind a broken plant pot, and Campese has also found metal shavings inside the unit and debris outside her door.
“It really put me over the edge when they came in without [telling me]. It just didn’t feel right to me.”
What's reasonable and what isn't
The need for renovations at Copper Mountain Court isn't in dispute among residents. One tenant, who requested anonymity, said their unit had never previously received any improvements since they moved in over a decade ago. But they aren't sure the upgrades are worth the ordeal of living through the construction.
There are high levels of noise throughout the day, even when the construction is underway at neighbouring units, and the tenant said there appeared to be little regard by workers for how they handle furniture. They added workers once left supplies in their handicap parking spot.
Another said they are still paying a natural gas bill, even though the gas has already been shut off in favour of the new electric heat system.
A common refrain from tenants was confusion over how the work was being scheduled. If PAC West focused on completing all the renovations at each unit before moving onto the next, tenants said, perhaps there would be less chaos.
But Motta said renovating each unit one at a time isn't practical for sub-contractors who have their own schedules and sometimes have to travel to Nelson to complete their contracts.
Motta said the schedule of work can be adapted to tenant needs when possible.
“It's really about communication and working together to find viable solutions when there is a scheduling concern, or there is an issue that comes up, and I think everyone's been very accommodating.”
The Residential Tenancy Board, which is the provincial arbitrator for disputes between tenants and landlords, has already legitimized at least one tenant's complaints.
In a June 24 decision, the board awarded $1,876.25 to Winegarden after determining the renovations breached Section 28 of the Residential Tenancy Act, which says tenants are entitled to "reasonable privacy" and "freedom from unreasonable disturbance."
The board said Nelson CARES did not mean to breach the act, nor are the renovations unreasonable, but “the ongoing noise and disturbances are unreasonable in terms of what a tenant may be expected to endure.”
The compensation applied retroactively from October 2024 to June. The board also suggested Winegarden can argue for more compensation in the future if issues continue.
“I just want us to be treated like humans...," said Winegarden. "None of this is necessary. Do a better job at communicating, do a better job at understanding the scope of work.”
