April 1st, 2022
A Special Recognition!
Credit where credit is due!
If you talk with any of the original or longtime Residents of The Towers Condominiums, all their stories about The Towers includes one name - Terry Ondak.
Terry was the start of something great for our community. Having purchased a unit in the early 2000's Terry was personally vested in his investment in The Towers. The landscape, however, was very different than it is now.
In the 2000s the property was in severe decline and sheltered all kinds of undesirables. There was crime, drug dealing, prostitution, and there was no one who dared to try to change it. Instead, more and more units fell prey to the corruption. Police were never called, and basically stayed away. While all this went on, the property itself grew more and more dilapidated. Units were abandoned because they wouldn’t sell. Owners who were unable to leave lived in fear of their own community.
Then came Terry.
Terry began zealously to make his unit something he could enjoy and take pride in as his primary residence. Many thought he was crazy to gut the sorry unit and rebuild its every detail – floor to ceiling, including the walls, leaving nothing unchanged except the basic floor plan. He was questioned regularly by other owners, “Why would you throw good money after bad?”
But Terry didn’t see it that way. All he saw was an opportunity to make a change. After securing a place on the board that had basically given up, he spent long days, weeks, and years rebranding The Towers, one unit at a time. He spread the word that change was coming, and enlisted trusted contractors to offer repairs to anyone ready to help him in his quest to better the community. It was slow going at first. SO many problems and no money to do any of the many necessary repairs. Basic needs, from the parking lot to the roof had been ignored. The pool was a mess, the elevator rarely worked, city codes were not met, the roof had patches upon patches and the clubhouse was basically a storage place, closed off to residents. Then there was the crime. The list was so long no one believed it would ever get better.
But Terry was not dissuaded. He was determined to protect his and everyone else’s investments and rebuild The Towers into the true luxury condominiums as they were intended. He went to local law enforcement and got to know them, building a solid relationship, and working with them tirelessly to thwart the crime within the building. It soon became commonplace for the police to drive through the parking lot regularly and make their presence known. The message: crime would no longer be tolerated. That message was received, and more and more owners took Terry’s mission seriously and became increasingly more comfortable investing in their units. Remodels increased and any giving up on The Towers was replaced with a willingness, even eagerness to make the bigger repairs happen.
It takes a village.
Looking at our beautiful property today is the reward to all those who trusted and believed that change was indeed possible. Through all the assessments, dues increases and new rules, owners soon realized that Terry’s vision was only possible if there was support behind it. Terry earned their support by never giving up regardless of the blood, sweat and tears it required to ensure he was successful in rebuilding The Towers. Today we all enjoy a safe and beautiful environment with regular property maintenance and a reliable security system. Relationships with police, contractors, banks, realtors, and our management company are stronger than ever, and the support they give us is invaluable. Those relationships were built on trust in Terry and the owners who appreciated his perseverance and vision.
There is much more we all have to be thankful for at The Towers. It just all starts with Terry.
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