Changes at Homestead Affecting Residents

[ad_1]Letter writer Liz Huff shares her thoughts on the apartment she hoped would be her comfortable ‘home’ in a Homestead building in Kingston. Submitted photo.Editor’s note: The following is a letter to the editor submitted to Kingstonist in response to an article, ‘Appalling’: Kingston seniors push back against Homestead’s paid visitor parking, published on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. The letter was originally written in late July 2026, but publication of the article above prompted the writer to send it to Editor-in-Chief Tori Stafford.To the editor,About six years ago, my husband’s mobility challenges meant we had to leave our home in Seeley’s Bay and move into accessible living in Kingston. There was a rental shortage at that time, and even though the rent felt high, we considered ourselves fortunate to secure an apartment in a Homestead building.We were impressed by the warm welcome we received, the great communication, the cleanliness of everything, and the nice amenities; maintenance standards were what you’d expect from any responsible owner.We already knew a bit about Brit Smith’s impressive philanthropy efforts in Kingston and nearby areas. Over time we learned how his vision for housing inspired his early projects and particularly his goal of creating affordable rental units as a way to improve living conditions for many people. Eventually, he expanded his Homestead company into one of Canada’s largest housing corporations-admired by locals for its quality housing construction and significant community donations. It seemed possible to be both an excellent landlord while running a successful business.However, over the last six months there has been a noticeable decline in standards. We’ve heard through social networks that similar issues are affecting other properties managed by Homestead in Kingston as well.The problems are numerous and varied: An unexpected change was made to the building entry call system which left first responders unable to access units quickly since residents were unaware that buzzer codes had changed. There was also an announcement stating that window washing wouldn’t happen this year. The pool's operating period has shrunk significantly from what used to be from May 24 until late September-it’s now almost two months shorter than before. We started noticing less skilled tradespeople showing up who did visibly inferior work; they lack knowledge of our infrastructure and don’t possess the professional skills we once took for granted. Elevators are frequently out of order, and during an emergency evacuation on one of last winter's coldest days things were handled poorly. There is noticeably less cleanliness around us now too and staff morale seems lower; we feel bad for front-line workers who have to deal with all these complaints from tenants.Recently, everyone received a letter that began “we are always striving to enhance the living experience for our valued residents.” It went on to announce a new policy requiring visitors pay for parking spots intended for them. This feels unwelcoming not just for our guests but poses financial challenges for many caregivers visiting daily-and nobody seemed unhappy with visitor parking prior.The letter suggested that we could provide caregiver license plate numbers ahead of time so property management could issue passes; this shows surprising ignorance regarding local circumstances where most caregivers get assigned patient visits only one day before arriving here. It feels like an insincere offer since such an advance exemption system won’t work for most people-and it's just wasting managers' time.Complaints are piling up concerning Homestead now-letters directed at senior management aren’t being answered directly but instead routed back downwards toward local management teams instead. Some residents have taken it upon themselves to pursue formal grievances regarding lost amenities while petitions circulate as well-but still no acknowledgment from upper management about overall dissatisfaction.One can’t help but question why it appears that resident satisfaction is being actively reduced: Are financial struggles involved? (Yet new construction continues.) Is there talk of ‘renovictions’? A shift away from values once held dear by their founder? Is profit-seeking becoming solely what matters now among current shareholders within this private company?Many residents here are older seniors who moved hoping for stable living arrangements during this phase of life together-a positive supportive community existed before; however negativity along with stress has become frustratingly prevalent lately.Our happy Homestead ‘home’ feels like it belongs only in memories now.It’s disappointing, plain and simple.Liz HuffKingston resident[ad_2]Source link

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