The owners of the downtown Calgary office tower Brookfield Place are taking drastic action after broken glass and concerns around the building’s windows closed streets and sidewalks.
Pedestrian and vehicle traffic was rerouted around the downtown on several occasions in the month of October after glass from the office tower fell into the street below.
READ MORE: Calgary business owners demand compensation after downtown road closures
The first incident happened on Oct. 15, and resulted in other incidents, Brookfield Property Group said in an emailed statement Wednesday.
“On Oct. 15, due to extremely high winds, a piece of window-washing equipment impacted the northeast façade of Brookfield Place at 225 6 Avenue S.W., causing a glass panel to break on the 51st floor,” senior vice-president Matthew Cherry said.
“Subsequently, on Sunday, Oct. 29, a glass panel broke on the 23rd floor of the same façade.”
WATCH: The potential for falling glass from the under-construction Brookfield Place has forced sidewalk closures for the third time in less than three weeks. Gary Bobrovitz reports.
On Tuesday, Oct. 31, the city also partially closed streets and sidewalks due to “window integrity concerns.”
The company said so far, it’s been determined the broken glass and falling debris on Oct. 15 caused damage to more glass panels on the building’s exterior.
“We are currently undergoing an intensive, comprehensive investigation of every glass panel in the building,” Cherry said.
“We are taking immediate and appropriate steps to ensure these panels are not further compromised.”
As the company completes its investigation, the temporary closures of streets and sidewalks surrounding the building will stay in place. Those include:
- Curbside lanes on 6 Avenue S.W. from 1 Street to 2 Street
- Right-hand lanes on 1 Street S.W. from 7 Avenue to 6 Avenue
- Sidewalks on the north and east sides of Brookfield Place
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