Business owners with shops in the vicinity of Brookfield Place in downtown Calgary had plenty of questions Monday, after scaffolding was erroneously placed around their storefronts.
Businesses in the Lougheed Building, just east of Brookfield Place on 6 Street S.W., told Global News they weren’t informed that scaffolding would be going up outside their shops, and complained that it restricted pedestrian access.
The point of the scaffolding? A safety precaution for adjacent buildings as the owners of Brookfield Place investigate every glass panel on the exterior of the office high-rise.
The investigation came after downtown core streets were closed on three occasions in October: the first two as a result of glass that fell from broken windows in the office tower on to the streets below.
Brookfield later said those two incidents were connected.
A third closure was put in place on Oct. 31, after high winds caused growing concerns about the glass’ structural integrity. Those closures will remain in place until the investigation is complete.
The problem with the scaffolding discovered on Monday is that according to an emailed statement from Brookfield, it was only supposed to be put up on the 1 Street S.W. side of the Lougheed Building, not the 6 Avenue side,according to an emailed statement from Brookfield.
“The management company for the Lougheed Building was informed last week about the scaffolding going up,” Brookfield senior vice-president Matthew Cherry said Monday.
“The scaffolding in front of the jewelry store on 6 Avenue was erected in error over the weekend and will be removed tonight.”
The scaffolding was put up where Richard Breslauer runs his business; he was shocked when it was installed, and he feels he’s been in the dark through the entire process.
He and another business owner have asked that affected establishments be reimbursed for lost business.
“We have our parking blocked off, nobody can see our store, and it’s not been a good week next door to the construction problems of Brookfield,” he said.
“They just haven’t been transparent with anybody around so we just haven’t been aware of what’s happening.”
Amyn Noorani, the owner of Good Earth Café on 1 Street, told Global News that the new development is already hurting business, with customer counts down about 40 per cent on Monday.
Brookfield wouldn’t comment Monday on how long it would take before the investigation wraps up.
The company also didn’t comment on whether it would compensate businesses that have been affected negatively by the construction process.
Global News requests to the city on a timeline for the investigation process were not immediately returned.
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