Is one of the two owners that wants the lift on the Committee? That’s the only way I can see that this could have happened. My building has external features on some apartments and not on others (eg balconies) and everyone has to pay for upgrades to those because they improve the appearance of the entire block. But a lift doesn’t improve anything for anyone other than those living on the upper floor of that one block. I think all three apartments should pay for it as all three will benefit. But strata should not. And if one of the owners doesn’t want it, then he/she needs to get others in the building on side to vote down the project. It’s a change to common space, so would need to go to a vote.
I wonder if anyone has considered who will pay the ongoing maintenance fees for this lift. A two-story maintenance contract is likely to be $2-3K per year, indexed to CPI.