This is unofficial advice given neighbor to neighbor; accuracy is not guaranteed, and any work on a unit should be done by licensed professionals with proper permissions from the building management.
Access to the building
Please be aware that contractors should use the back door entrance and the rear elevator for transporting tools, debris, materials, or equipment. Plan ahead. If you have a delivery of furniture, appliances, or other large items that won’t fit through one of the doors in the back, you will need to borrow the key to the lock on the back door from the lobby office so that you can open both doors. If the contractor chooses and his truck height is low enough, they may find it more advantageous to come into the basement and use the freight elevator than using the back door [Admin note: Check w/management first; see below]. There is a manual button which you can use to open the basement garage door which is located at the exit of the basement ramp closest to the elevator.
—Bill J.
A couple of additions to the info above: Without the key to open the second door, nothing wider than 24,” or possibly 25,” will fit through the opening. If the door is damaged trying to force through a larger object, the culprit will be held responsible for repair or replacement costs—keep in mind that unit owners are considered responsible for their contractor’s actions. Also, having a contractor bring their (sufficiently low) truck into the basement to unload directly into the freight elevator sounds like a great idea but I’d still check with Cathy (management) or Ron (maintenance) before having someone do it. There may be rules or liability issues regarding what vehicles are or aren’t allowed into the basement garage and for how long.
As far as normal access to the building goes, all visitors are expected to enter through the lobby. Until a few years ago the side entrances were considered primarily emergency exits and the front door was the official entrance for everyone, but there are now fob readers on both side entries allowing residents multiple access points. For security reasons, no door should be left propped open and unattended at any time, and people entering the building should avoid letting strangers trail in behind them.
A map to help people unfamiliar with the complex to find the correct entrance to the correct building can be found here.
—Ruth E.
Intercom System
The building has an intercom system which allows you to open the front door. When you move in, you will provide management with a phone number which will be tied to the intercom. The intercom will dial your phone number and you can chat and vet the person at the front door. When you are satisfied that the person at the front door is legitimate, you can let them in by punching ‘0’ on your phone, otherwise just hang up.
When the building was first converted to condominiums, there was a hard wired intercom system installed. All owners have probably removed this intercom from their units but the wires still exist in the walls. These intercom wires are 18 awg low voltage wires which look like thermostat wires with ten leads. These wires should be terminated and labeled in the wall so that if they are ever discovered in the future by someone else, they will know what they are.
—Bill J.