Winnipeg’s mayor says the city is focused on supporting residents of a Portage Avenue apartment block who were were ordered to vacate Thursday night due to unsafe conditions.
Scott Gillingham spoke to media Friday morning, alongside Jason Shaw, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) deputy chief of emergency management and public information.
“This decision was not made lightly. Our priority is the safety and wellbeing of tenants who live in the building,” Gillingham said.
“My heart goes out to the residents of Birchwood Terrace. This is an emotional and difficult time for many of them.”
The building, Birchwood Terrace, was the subject of a recent inspection, which uncovered severe deterioration to columns that support the building, the mayor said.
The 171-unit building, built in the 1960s, is home to more than 200 people.
The timeline for repairs is unknown, but the city said it may take several months to identify the issues.
Residents — who were expected to begin leaving Friday morning — have expressed frustration about the short notice and lack of transparency.
Vitaly Prestupa, who lived in the building with his wife and two dogs, told Global Winnipeg they’ve packed what they could but have left behind most of their belongings.
“They haven’t provided us (with) any ideas where we should stay… so now we go out of the building and we’ll just physically stay in our cars.
“The whole night, we were packing, because we were told that we must leave the building before 8 a.m. We cannot take everything, we didn’t have time to make any arrangements… but the most interesting thing is that we don’t know where we’re going to stay. We have no place to stay.”
Temporary accommodations and supports are being provided for residents at a reception centre at the nearby Holiday Inn. Ladco Company Limited owns both the hotel and the Birchwood Terrace apartments.
The hotel was also the site of a town hall-style meeting with residents and Henry Borger of Ladco Company Limited. Borger was joined by a structural engineer who inspected the building prior to it being deemed structurally unsound.
Residents were informed their leases were terminated and that they’d get their damage deposits and rent for the month of May back – an average of approximately $2000 per person. They were also told they would not be able to return to their suites in the immediate future, but that they would be able move back once repairs were complete; however no timeline for this work was available.
Some residents expressed relief that the issue was caught when it was. One resident stood, acknowledging and thanking everyone who had helped the tenants move out of the building.
Others were frustrated.
“Everybody here should band together, get a lawyer, and file a civil lawsuit against you and your company,” one attendee shouted at Borger.
Borger told reporters work began on a column in the building’s parking garage in mid-March after management noticed it appeared to have been damaged by a vehicle.
“When we uncovered that, we saw that there was significant corrosion at the bottom of that column. At that point, we called the engineer, to find out what to do,” he said.
It was after engineers assessed other columns that they were found to be eroded to the point of being a safety concern. Borger said we was made aware the building would need to be evacuated on Wednesday. He directed inquiries about entry to the building from tenants to the City of Winnipeg.
The city said tenants at neighbouring properties are also being told by the city to be prepared to evacuate if it becomes necessary.
Winnipeg has countless buildings as old as — or older than — Birchwood Terrace, and the mayor said while it’s too soon to say whether any changes will be made to municipal policies or bylaws as a result of this situation, it’s ultimately up to property owners to make sure their buildings are well-maintained.
“I would imagine if I was a property owner and reading the news today, I would be thinking about my building and the last time it was inspected,” Gillingham said.
“This was caught due to having an engineer in to inspect their property. Property owners have a responsibility to ensure their properties are in a safe condition and maintained.”
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