Toronto condo complex going viral for excruciating 20-minute elevator waits

It can be a total nightmare just getting from A to B in Toronto, but for residents of one midtown condo complex, boarding an elevator might just be the hardest part of the daily commute.

The Citylights on Broadway development's pair of condo towers were completed in 2021, but an apparent problem has already emerged despite the buildings only being a couple of years old.

A video making the rounds on social media is drawing attention to a possible elevator capacity issue with the complex at 95 Broadway Avenue, with residents reportedly forced to wait in painful lines snaking through hallways for longer than 20 minutes, just to board an elevator.

The clip, initially shared via TikTok Live by realtor Alessandra Panno, shows an over 20-minute wait allegedly captured on a Monday evening at around 6:30 p.m. Dozens can be seen in a queue to board the elevators on the complex's ground floor as the camera snakes through hallways leading back to the condo lobby.

Damn is this a common in these Condo Buildings? 😳 pic.twitter.com/oTZPjguDgR

— Hussein Ebrahim (@therealhebrahim) August 1, 2023

Several people have chimed in to share similar experiences with over-capacity elevators in other newly built Toronto condo towers.

YES. I lived in a 53 storey tower with 4 elevators. When one was down, wait 15 minutes. When 2 were down could be 45 minutes and they break down all the time. Lucky I was only on 10th floor, so I could just carry my baby stroller down the stairs (wife held baby)...

— Mark (@Mark39363962) August 1, 2023

And, like every conversation about crappy condos in the city, the famously sketchy Ice Condos got its dues.

I rented an Airbnb in there last time I was in Toronto. I couldn’t believe the amount of time I spent waiting for elevators!

— The Life Of Pablo (@BigPapiPabl0) August 1, 2023

Elevator capacity in high-rise buildings is by no means a new issue, and even became a hot political topic back in 2017, when a new provincial law was passed with the intention of making elevators more accessible and reliable.

However, the problem has persisted, and new condo developments are often still constructed with the bare minimum in elevator capacity.

Additional capacity, while not often required for a building's day-to-day elevator traffic, becomes crucial when one or more elevator shafts are taken offline for maintenance or move-ins.

blogTO has reached out to both the developer, Pemberton Group, and DEL Property Management for comment on the elevator situation at the condo complex. Neither company has replied to email requests as of writing.