Notices from ASTOUND with the details were distributed door to door on the evening of Wednesday June 26, 2024, and discussed at the Fiber Project Meet and Greet. (Electronic version available below.)
It is time for residents of the 01 and 03 units to make appointments to get their new equipment installed to the fiber line. ASTOUND will have multiple teams of technicians here at Park Tower on Wednesday July 10th through Saturday July 13th to install the new equipment and get residents set up. For anyone who will not be home or cannot arrange for someone to meet with the technician, you can contact the office at parktowercondo-mgmt@habitat.com and we will work with ASTOUND on an alternative.
The co-axial line will be shut down to the 01 and 03 units in about 7-10 days from Saturday July 13th, so it is important that everyone arrange your appointment as soon as possible, so that you can keep receiving service and start enjoy the new services such as the 1GIG Upload/Download internet speed.
For the complete instructions for setting up the appointment, as well as an FAQ about the install process and new service and equipment, Click Here.
ASTOUND reported at the Meet and Greet that appointments will take about 45 minutes to an hour or so on average. This depends on how many devices you have that need to get set up, and of course they want to answer any questions you have. Also, since the new program relies heavily on Wi-fi service, it is vital that they set up the devices in the best possible arrangement for maximum coverage. To that end, technicians conduct “heat mapping” of each unit to make sure each unit gets the best possible service throughout the space.
One question that came up a lot at Wednesdays meeting was,”If I presently pay for 1GIG premium service, will I still be billed for it?” NO! That charge will go away. In fact they’ve already started processing this in their system and statements for July service should start reflecting this.
We expect Owners and residents will have questions. Please review the FAQ included with the notice (above). If you still have any questions at all, e-mail our team and parktowercondo-mgmt@habitat.com and we will follow up.
Notice of their expected work schedule and an FAQ were distributed on Tuesday June 25th, to all ’15 units from floors 55 to 3. This includes preparation work, opening the drywall at the work location, coring an opening, running the fiber backbone and installing the point of entry in each unit, and patching the drywall.
OWNERS AND RESIDENTS will need to make sure there clear is a clear path to and around the installation location. This will be in the living room along the shared wall with the bedroom where the column is located by the window. Workers will need to be able to get to the work location and have reasonable space to maneuver at the work location. About 6 feet of space should be reasonable. (If belongings are in their path or blocking the work area, there would be a labor charge to the Unit Owner associated with moving them.)
Please review the schedule and FAQ, and contact our team with any questions. (Click Here to view an electronic copy.) We strongly encourage all other Owners and residents to review this schedule and FAQ as well, so you get an idea of what to expect. They will be making their way in the coming months from the ’15 tier, to ’14, then ’12, ’11, ’10, ‘9, ‘8, ‘7, ‘6, ‘5, ‘4, and ‘2. These materials will help you prepare.
ASTOUND will be making their way from the 55th floor down in multiple phases, entering each unit multiple times on multiple days, and it is important for you to be prepared and know what to expect so this process can be successful.
This does not yet include scheduling for our team to complete painting of the work location. We will be working on that and should be releasing a schedule in the next week or so.
The process will start Monday July 15th and continue into mid-August as outlined on the calendar. We do expect the repainting that we will be coordinating, will follow on the heals of the “Sanding & Removing PVC” on the schedule, which is set to begin from the 55th floor down on August 6th. A more detailed schedule is being mapped out by our team.
Please contact the office with any questions, at parktowercondo-mgmt@habitat.com.
5:30 to 7:30PM In The 2nd Floor Party Room
CHANGE IS COMING – The Co-Ax Network Is Being Decommissioned Tier By Tier, Starting With The ’01 and ’03 Units
New services and new equipment will be needed for you to receive TV programming and internet service. There is much to learn. To help, representatives from ASTOUND will be here in person to discuss the fiber rewire project and answer questions about the process, new equipment and new services. They will also be releasing the schedule and fact sheet for the upcoming equipment installation process for the ’01 and ’03 units.
They’ve given us a preliminary window of Wednesday July 10th through Saturday July 13th for free installation appointments. Several crews are expected to be here each of those days, and they will need an adult present to conduct the installation. We anticipate ASTOUND will release a formal notice about this process in conjunction with the Meet and Greet on June 26th.
A similar process will unfold for the next tier, the ’15 units. That fiber rewire is expected to begin on Monday July 15th, from the 55th Floor working down. The walls will be opened, a fiber backbone will be installed, followed by points of entry and a reconstruction team to get your walls closed back up. More is to come about this from ASTOUND.
All other tiers will follow throughout the rest of the summer and fall from the ’14 Units on down to the ‘2 Units.
For more about the Meet and Greet and an FAQ about the process and new services to come, Click Here.
But to answer a couple questions relative the fiber recon, as ASTOUND makes their way down with the 01/03 fiber lines, reconstruction efforts will continue to follow from the 38th floor up to 55, as originally expected. We had to make some adjustments though for recon on floors 37 down to 3:
Floors 37 – 34 Thursday & Friday June 20th and 21st
Floors 33 – 30 Monday and Tuesday June 24th and 25th
Floors 29 – 26 Wednesday and Thursday June 26th and 27th
Floors 25 – 22 Friday and Monday June 28th and July 1st
Floors 21 – 18 Tuesday and Wednesday July 2nd and 3rd
Floors 17 – 14 Friday and Monday July 5th and 8th
Floors 12 – 9 Tuesday and Wednesday July 9th and 10th
Floors 8 – 5 Thursday and Friday July 11 and 12
Floors 4 – 3 Monday and Tuesday July 15 and 16
More specific to the ’01/03 process is available at: https://www.ptcondo.com/01-03-hvac-riser-project-scheduled/
MORE UPDATES ON THE FIBER UPGRADE FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO FOLLOW ALONG:
ASTOUND successfully launched their fiber line installation this week, and so far things are progressing as hoped. We are keeping a close eye on their progress, and will be integrating what we learn into future announcements as they continue with other tiers. The 15 Units will be right behind the 01 and 03 Units, so anything helpful or of value from this experience will be passed on.
For the 01 and 03 Units we are starting to turn our attention to the equipment installation phase. Below is a link to their formal announcements, first for the Meet and Greet, Wednesday June 26th 5:30PM to 7:30PM, as well as their onsite installation support event scheduled for July 10th, the date new equipment installations are scheduled to get underway. This will be most relevant for the 01/03 tier, but for with the Meet and Greet on June 26th, anyone curious to learn more will be welcome.
More is to come, but mark your calendars for these events. You’ll also find a very informative FAQ about this process to help address questions they hear during similar installation programs.
More is expected from ASTOUND, specifically about scheduling the 01/03 equipment installation. We expect something formal to be released in conjunction with the June 26th Meet and Greet. And of course we expect scheduling specifics for the ’15 tier to be released soon as well.
Share any questions with us anytime, at parktowercondo-mgmt@habitat.com.
At this time, all other dates are expected to remain the same relating to the equipment installation and cable line decommissioning.
We have one correction though. The date we expect to begin the ’15 tier installation is Monday July 15th, not the 22nd as we previously posted. Our apologies for any confusion.
The team at ASTOUND just sent us the materials to distribute to residents giving notice and more information for this process and details about the new services you can expect. We are completing a final review after which this should be distributed next week.
PLEASE READ – REVISED TIER 01 and TIER 03 – FIBER REWIRE SCHEDULE
June 3, 2024
Dear Resident of Park Tower Condominium Association,
Please be advised that the Astound Broadband Fiber-to-the-Home re-wire project start date has been rescheduled
from a Monday, June 3rd start to Monday, June 10th. The details of the new schedule are as follows:
Monday June 10th – Wednesday June 12th : Installation of Fiber Backbone
– Astound will run main (backbone) fibers for the entire 01 and 03 tier from the top down (floors 55-3).
– Access to all units in the tier is required
Monday June 10th – Monday June 17th: Fiber-to-the-Home Rewiring
– Astound will start with two units on 55th floor and continue going down from there.
– We will need access to both units (01 and 03 tier) to splice and to install fiber wall plates.
– Rewire schedule per floor is as follows:
June 10th units from 55th to 50th floor
June 11th units from 49th to 42nd floor
June 12th units from 41st to 32nd floor
June 13th units from 31st to 22nd floor
June 14th units from 21st to 11th floor
June 17th units from 10th to 3rd floor
We are excited to have this opportunity to provide you with our premier communication services and look forward
to offering you the most innovative technology!
Thank you,
Astound Broadband Chicago
We are waiting for ASTOUND to release formal notices that can be distributed as well as an FAQ to help everyone understand the coming process and new services. For now, we have some initial dates residents can pencil in.
First, related to the 01/03 tier, presently undergoing the Riser Project, ASTOUND will be beginning the fiber line install next week. Residents of the 01/03 tier can refer to their calendar for specifics, but they will begin Monday June 3rd on 55 and work their way down. If there are any changes to expectations, we will get the word out as quickly as we can.
Very soon, we expect ASTOUND to release an initial notice about the Fiber Rewire effort. This will include explaining the changes in service and equipment. This will be accompanied by the FAQ to help residents understand the process and changes, and to help set expectations. To support that they are planning an event – a Town Hall Meeting/Meet and Greet on Thursday June 13th. Representatives will be here to explain the project and answer questions between 5pm and 7pm.
For the 01/03 residents, the dates for new equipment installation are expected to by Wednesday July 10th through Saturday July 13th. The aforementioned notice will include information on how to set up an appointment to get your new equipment installed for free.
Following that process, the Co-Axial cable service to the 01/03 tier is expected to be cut off on Monday July 22nd, and those residents will be the first to go live on the fiber network.
It is also expected that the ’15 tier fiber installation will get underway on Monday July 15th. [CORRECTION] The equipment installation would likely follow in August, as well as the fiber installation for the ’14 tier…and the process will continue on down over the next several months. We are awaiting final confirmation for the ’15 tier timing and a calendar to distribute to residents.
They’ve committed to additional Town Halls, and even some ZOOM events so residents on the coming tiers will have opportunities to learn more about the process and what to expect as additional tiers get scheduled for fiber and equipment installation. However, the FAQ they will be distributing is extremely informative and may cover much if not all the questions you may have about the changes and the new equipment.
This is a lot and we know residents will have questions and feedback, but we are excited to get this significant improvement rolling for the PT community. Feel free to contact us anytime at parktowercondo-mgmt@habitat.com.
And after that, they will continue downward through the tiers, 14, 12, 11, 10 and so on.
This process is expected to begin as a part of the final phase of work on the ’01/’03 HVAC Riser Project, June 3rd. They will be working their way down from the 55th Floor. Then, there will be a pause as we wrap up with Riser work and a break for the week of the Independence Day Holiday. Then we expect their work to continue one tier at a time with the ’15 starting Monday July 8th.
We await their formal project calendar to be released, and we will distribute that (and update this post) once it’s available.
They’ve also announced that the fiber line is expected to go live as they install each tier. They will set up scheduling for equipment installation upon completion tier by tier. This was previously unexpected, but should result in a more efficient transition.
The are also working on scheduling for Town Hall Meetings and tutorials to help residents learn and understand the new equipment and services. The DVR platform will move from TIVO to a cloud based service, which we are told is user friendly and will give much more recording flexibility and capacity.
MORE TO COME…stay tuned!
We’ve gotten the questions about it, and we now have some details we can share including a potential timeframe for work to begin!
Along with the price decrease negotiated by the Association, thanks to the efforts of the Ad Hoc Commission that worked on the cable and internet contract renewal, replacement of the coaxial cable network with fiber as the primary source of video and internet service was considered. This has not yet been formally approved by the Board, as we negotiated the details and reviewed potential construction plans for the effort. This will include opening up walls in most units and installing new equipment in all units, so there’s been quite a bit to review.
With or without the agreed wiring plan, we did push ASTOUND to implement the price decrease March 1st. Originally they only agreed to the price decrease once the fiber network went live. They agreed with management that there were too many variables outside of the Association’s control, and capitulated to making the price adjustment concurrent with the Association’s new budget year, starting March 1st.
Also, we can now announce we expect the Board to formally consider an agreement with ASTOUND for the fiber installation plans at the next Board Meeting, Monday March 11th. Assuming the effort is approved as negotiated, work could began as soon as the 2nd or 3rd week of May 2024. If that happens, installation of new equipment for the fiber service could occur as soon as August. It would be possible that all units would have access to the agreed to 1 GIG upload and 1 GIG download of service by September.
Assuming the agreement is approved, detailed schedules will be put together as quickly as possible and shared with all residents and Owners. We will outline the expected timeframe for the construction work and when we will need access to the units to do wiring. We can’t yet speak to the schedule for installation of equipment, but that will not take place until after the fiber infrastructure is installed. However, it will take about 15 working days from the moment ASTOUND enters a unit to begin the fiber installation process, to the day we expect to finish.
The fiber lines will be run in the chase serving the HVAC Risers. These are the plumbing risers that serve the convectors units which heat and cool your home. There are 17 such risers, but we will only need to access 11 of them to get fiber into every unit. This is because some risers serve two units. (Such as the riser we recently had a leak on, the ’01/’03 riser – it serves the ’01 guest bedroom and the ’03 studios.) Thanks to dual unit risers like this, we will not have to make openings in every single unit. Those where we do make openings, will be closed up and painted. Those we do not will only have a small opening made for the fiber line junction box that will be installed in every unit.
THIS IS A LOT…I know, but our team wanted to bring everyone up to speed and answer some of the questions we’ve been getting. More will be coming, and most importantly detailed schedules for the work.
One other question we’ve gotten…
Since the contract will be allowing up to 1 GIG Uploads and 1 GIG Downloads, if we presently pay for a 1 GIG upgrade, will the charge for that go away?
YES! In fact, anyone who presently has speed upgrades to 1 Gig will see that charge go away once the network goes live.
Feel free to share any other questions you may have, at parktowercondo-mgmt@habitat.com.
Stay tuned!