Hello there!
If you are reading this, it’s likely because you added your name to the list of people who are calling on the Board to temporarily pause the planned renovations. As the organizers of that survey, we wanted to share some updates with you.
First, the survey showed that a lot of people share your concerns: So far, 320 people representing 281 units have officially joined our call for a pause. (For comparison, just 33 people have said via the survey that they are happy with the current approach.) Every day, we speak with more people who are concerned about the project, including realtors, architects, paramedics, and people with disabilities. We know that many people living in SPC (beyond just those who have supported through the survey!) are sincerely worried about the cost, function, and accessibility of the new designs, and feel the way the process was handled raises serious questions.
It’s not too late to make changes
We’ve been led to believe that it’s too late to make changes to the designs—that it would be too expensive or too difficult to, as Board president Wei-Li Tjong said, “stop the Queen Mary on a dime.” But there is good reason to think that this is not the case.
First, the major concerns around long-term cost, safety and accessibility, and everyday function can be addressed without starting from scratch or giving up any of the things so many shareholders want to see (specifically: beautiful, functional, and welcoming lobbies and shared spaces). As professionals with years of experience in this realm, we know that major improvements could be achieved without substantially setting back the process.
Here are some other things to keep in mind:
It is not clear how advanced or realistic the designs are. According to the schedules shared in the January 7th meeting, procurement for the lobby construction will occur over the next three months—which means that no construction contracts have been signed. Put another way: We won’t have crews standing around and being paid for work they aren’t doing if we take a little more time to get this right.
Procurement for the landscaping work isn’t scheduled to begin until March/April. This means there’s ample time for shareholder review and feedback.
While filings have been initiated with the Department of Buildings, drawings have not yet been filed. Once that happens, the drawings will need to be reviewed and approved—a process that can take several months and can lead to significant changes.
Refining a design and making it more functional and efficient based on user feedback is a normal part of the design process. Doing it once construction starts is expensive, but doing it while the designs are still on paper is much wiser than going ahead with work that will need to be modified later. Taking the time to fix flaws and ensure that the new plans are fiscally responsible and more aligned with cooperators’ needs will save money in the long run.
All of the information we’ve gathered confirms that there is still ample time to make changes if the Board is willing to engage with shareholder feedback in good faith and treat us as neighbors instead of naysayers.
Our request for a meeting
On Wednesday, Jan 14, we sent an email to the Board requesting a meeting between a group of concerned shareholders who have professional experience relevant to this renovation (e.g., architects, designers, and realtors).
The purpose of this meeting would not be to debate design preferences, but to ensure that a project of this scale is planned transparently, thoughtfully, and with actual resident engagement. Specifically, we asked for:
Full transparency into the data, surveys, and original project brief that shaped the current proposal
A short pause to identify shareholder concerns—which would be collected through a structured process rooted in established engagement strategies and design practices—and to ultimately improve the plan
A collaborative path forward that reduces conflict and strengthens trust among cooperators
As of now, the Board has acknowledged our request but has yet to agree to a meeting or take other steps to open the process to shareholder input. If they do not agree to meet, we will move to call for a special meeting, which cooperators have the right to do; making this happen would require a petition with signatures from 25% of all shareholders.
What’s next
As we said earlier, it is not too late to make changes and still achieve all the major goals of this renovation. But the Board needs to know that people care about this and aren’t simply going to accept evasive non-answers about something that will affect our finances and our quality of life for the next several decades.
Here are some things you can do right now if you’d like to be proactive:
If you know of other cooperators who share your concerns, ask them to add their name to this list (and select “yes” on the first question).
Attend the upcoming lobby meetings (in Building 3 on Jan. 20 from 6-8 p.m. and Building 4 on Jan 21 from 6-8 p.m.) and talk to Board members directly about your concerns. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and push for answers, or to be critical about the issues you see with these plans.
If you’ve attended lobby meetings already and learned anything noteworthy, please share it with us!
Talk to your neighbors! Not everyone is on spcomm or paying close attention to this topic, and many people simply aren’t aware just how far-reaching and potentially problematic these designs are.
Thank you again for joining us in these efforts—now let’s get to it!