More than two years after a fire gutted a Park Ridge condominium building, rendering the structure uninhabitable and displacing dozens of residents, some of them are calling for the city to step in and help speed up the rebuild so they can return home.
A handful of residents of Bristol Court condos attended the Park Ridge City Council meeting Monday night to publicly question why their units still haven’t been rebuilt.
“We are asking Park Ridge to provide a professional insurance mediator, specialized project manager or legal counsel,” resident Katie Dooley-Joyce told the council.
She spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting. Council members listened intently but were not required to respond since the issue raised was not on the night’s agenda.
On May 24, 2022, firefighters responded around 11 p.m. to Bristol Court, in the 200 block of Thames Parkway, after a fire alarm was activated there, fire department officials stated in a news release the next day about the destructive blaze.
“Upon arrival, crews saw heavy fire blowing out of a window in a top floor unit and extending up into the mansard roof,” according to the release.
The release explained that trapped residents had to be rescued, and four had to be transported to an area hospital – with non-life threatening injuries. A firefighter was also injured, but was treated and released the same day.
Authorities said the fire was accidental. More than two dozen other departments also responded to the scene to assist. The entire 36-unit building was deemed unlivable, according to the release.
Since then, residents like Dooley-Joyce have moved into other temporary quarters, but she told the council Monday that she and her neighbors would like to go back to their homes. While displaced, the condo-owners are still paying their mortgage, homeowner association fees and other costs, she said.
Dooley-Joyce said she’s spent about $20,000 since the fire on a property she cannot inhabit, and she’s not alone.
“Since May 2022 to present, dozens of residents, mostly senior citizens, remain displaced following the fire in the building,” said Dooley-Joyce. “We’ve been paying … the Bristol Court Condominium Association. It’s been an increased hardship for many.”
The devastation has taken a toll in several ways, she explained.
“Many are dipping into savings or going into debt to avoid homelessness,” Dooley-Joyce told city officials.
Bristol Court Condominium Association is the homeowner’s group.
The residents allege specifically that the HOA and BlueSky Restoration, the construction company tasked with rebuilding the property, have wasted time and residents’ money.
BlueSky Restoration, based in Centennial, Colorado – near Denver – responds to property emergencies, including fires and some hazardous material abatement, its website states.
Construction fencing and equipment is visible outside the Bristol Court building, but units remain visibly unfinished.
Pioneer Press could not immediately reach representatives from BlueSky, which has a location in northwest suburban Rolling Meadows.
Dooley-Joyce said the HOA has wholly neglected any responsibility to the homeowners.
“They have a board of elected volunteers with no expertise in fire remediation or project management,” Dooley-Joyce said of the HOA.
She said its fire commission board is equally unhelpful and ceded control entirely to the construction company.
“The fire commission members have openly admitted at each meeting they have zero expertise at total loss and fire demolition and restoration, and have broken the fiduciary responsibility by wrongfully surrendering full control of the restoration project to BlueSky Restoration for full project management and all of the insurance,” Dooley-Joyce said.
She said residents need the city’s help, telling council members that the three-story building is in public view and is currently an eyesore. Located just off Talcott Road, the building is near a busy street.
Pioneer Press could not immediately reach HOA representatives.
Park Ridge Mayor Marty Maloney said he’s talked in the past with city officials about how the city can move the process along.
However, he said Monday he isn’t familiar with the current status of the project and directed Drew Awsumb, the city’s development director, to look into the situation.
Awsumb agreed to do that. Additionally, a residential meeting is also planned for tonight.
“The building is still nowhere close to being habitable and there is no end in sight,” Dooley-Joyce said, adding that three residents have died waiting for the condo building to be rebuilt.
Jesse Wright is a freelancer.
