Upgrades to the ventilation system at a downtown seniors’ home are running late, but are slated for completion next month, according to the Yukon Housing Corp.

Spurred by complaints from several tenants, duct renovations worth $250,000 at Closeleigh Manor look to improve air quality and address health concerns.

One resident, Davina Harker, has experienced symptoms including headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, chronic exhaustion, mental fatigue and cognitive problems like memory loss for the past 15 months.

“Last winter, I became very, very ill as I confined myself more to my building,” she told the Star during the fall, attributing her “health crises” to the facility’s air quality.

Matt King, vice-president of operations with Yukon Housing, assured residents last September that company contracts to clean the ducts, repair air leakages and address air filtration issues had been carried out.

The air intake vent — reinstalled this month on the south side of the building from its previous location beside the loading bay in the alley behind the building — was initially slated for relocation back in October.

Its current spot at the front of the building on Lambert Street where fewer vehicles idle presumably allows less exhaust inside.

A chimney extension was also completed this month — later than expected — confirmed Tim Sellars, the housing corporation’s policy and communications director.

Hvactech Systems, a Whitehorse-based company, was not able to pull the final permits on the air intake or chimney extension until the beginning of December.

The setbacks were attributed to that, along with delayed arrival of materials.

“Happy to see that we’re making progress,” Sellars said Monday.

Remaining work includes rebalancing the ventilation system to improve air flow throughout building.

Whitehorse’s Northern Climate Engineering is slated to compete the rebalance by Jan. 31.

Tenants of the public retirement residence met onsite with Yukon Housing officials in September to address concerns about air cleanliness and residents’ health, revealing sharp divisions among the tenants themselves.

“This is ridiculous,” said one at the meeting on Sept. 24. “I been here 16 years; I never been sick.”

“I’m in this to find a solution to the air in this building,” Harker responded.

“We’re all breathing,” shot back the tenant, who declined to give her name.

“The environment in Closeleigh Manor is very inconsistent and toxic,” Harker said in a letter earlier this month.

“I live with my windows open 24/7 for a measure of safety. I am distressed, sometimes intoxicated and ill by particulates, and very cold now that winter is upon us.”

The 32-suite apartment complex, which opened in 1988, sits on the northwest corner of Front and Lambert streets.

King has reminded residents in the past about “internal” factors that could degrade air quality: “Smoking is a big one.”

He noted the no-smoking policy at all Yukon Housing facilities.

He added that several measurements have shown carbon monoxide levels at Closeleigh Manor are negligible.

King encouraged residents to keep the vents in their suites open.

Early in 2014, Yukon Housing hired Northern Climate Engineering to conduct a thorough investigation of the ventilation system — installed during the building’s construction.

The engineering firm’s March report found the air system in a dire state.

“Upon review of the physical condition of the mechanical equipment, the lack of preventative maintenance is apparent,” the assessment read.

NDP Housing critic Kate White noted territorial legislation “requires landlords to make residences ‘suitable for occupation by a tenant.’

“As landlord of Closeleigh Manor, the minister should be appalled by the condition of his residence and the clear health risks posed to his elderly and vulnerable tenants,” White said in the legislature nearly two weeks ago.

Brad Cathers, the minister responsible for the housing corporation, highlighted the $250,000 his government set aside in the 2014-15 capital budget for ventilation system upgrades at the residence.

“It was this government that provided the resources to the Yukon Housing Corporation to do an investigation of issues at Closeleigh Manor,” he said.

“I am sure that if the project has indeed been delayed...I am sure there is a good reason for it because I am confident that the board and the staff of Yukon Housing Corporation are as committed as I am to ensuring that the air quality issues at Closeleigh Manor are addressed.”

White called on Cathers to urge Yukon Housing to retain an independent technician to collect indoor air quality samples and have them tested.