UPDATED – Friday July 22nd

SCHEDULED WATER SHUT DOWN

To accommodate the replacement of the hot water heaters serving all kitchens and baths from the 30th to 55th floors, there will be a scheduled water shut down on Tuesday July 26, 2016 between the hours of 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM to the following areas:

Floors:     30 through 55

Units:       ALL Units – Kitchen- Hot and Cold Water

ALL Units – Bathroom- Hot and Cold Water

We apologize for the inconvenience. Please contact the Management Office if you have any questions office at 773-769-3250 or parktowercondo@dkcondo.com.

UPDATED – Monday July 18th

Work is now well underway to replace the hot water heaters which serve all units’ kitchens and bathrooms from the 30th to 55th floors.

Owners on the upper floors – about 45 and up, may hear some construction noise from time to time. The bulk of work and construction is being done in the penthouse above the 55th floor. Floors closer to the roof may feel some vibrating, though the contractors advises this will be an exception and not the rule from day to day.

We expect only one day long water shut down throughout this process. This will be done on the day they expect to perform the tie ins to the new water heaters. Notices will be issued in advance.

We will follow up as more information becomes available.

UPDATED Friday June 24th – This project has been delayed.

The contractor advised that materials necessary to begin the project (to replace the hot water heaters serving the 30th to 55th floors) have been delayed in the shipping process. Once they have word of a new arrival date, a revised schedule will be issued and work should get underway fairly quickly. Preparations were already underway, laying the groundwork to begin, so once these materials arrive they plan to get started.

Once we have a revised schedule, we will be able to estimate new dates for water shut offs to the 30th-50th floors.

While this is the “Hot Water Heater” project, shut offs will impact both hot and cold water, as it is the main city service cold water which feeds that hot water heaters. That service will need to be down while the disconnect the old hot water heaters and install the new ones.

From June 13th: The hot water heaters which serve all kitchens and bathrooms from the 30th to 55th floors are scheduled to be replaced.

Earlier this year, the PTCA Board hired Elara Energy to develop specifications for replacement of these boilers which provide hot water for the kitchen and bathroom faucets on these floors. Shortly thereafter, bidding was done, and Fettes, Love & Sieben, a Chicago Plumbing & Heating Contractor, was chosen to complete the project. Work is scheduled to begin on Monday June 20th, and completed on Monday July 25th.

The good news? These hot water heaters have been very problematic the past few years. They are about 32 years old, and well beyond their useful life. Our maintenance team recommended last year as a part of the budget process that they be replaced. So replacement will reduce some of the stress on expenses for the cost to maintain and keep this part of our mechanical plant in good working order. AND it will eliminate unnecessary emergency outages which are sometimes required when repairs are being done.

Perhaps most important, though, today’s technology is much more effective and efficient. We expect to save water, natural gas and electricity. We also expect to save time, as the control system and various interfaces are much more user friendly. In addition, Elara built in redundancies to their plans, and should future maintenance be needed, we expect a much lower possibility of outages while repairs and maintenance are being done.

The bad news? As with most plumbing work, we do expect to have a planned water outage or two. The work is scheduled to begin on the 20th. As it stands now, there may be a partial outage on June 24th for a couple hours. A full outage for the entire high zone from 30 to 55, is expected on July 6th when the new tie ins are installed. The silver lining? That’s it. Just two days.

There will be drilling and sawing in the mechanical room, on and off from June 22nd through July 8th. There will not be constant noise, but it will be noisy from time to time and we expect residents several floors down will be able to hear it on and off during business hours.

As with any project, we appreciate Owners and Residents patience and understanding as we make these necessary improvements. If you have questions or concerns at any time, feel free to contact the office.