{"id":10220,"date":"2023-09-05T00:55:16","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T00:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/?p=10220"},"modified":"2023-09-05T00:55:16","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T00:55:16","slug":"fears-of-building-collapse-prompt-plea-to-evacuate-north-edmonton-condo-building-edmonton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edmontondailynews.com\/fears-of-building-collapse-prompt-plea-to-evacuate-north-edmonton-condo-building-edmonton\/","title":{"rendered":"Fears of building collapse prompt plea to evacuate north Edmonton condo building – Edmonton"},"content":{"rendered":"
More than five months after a fire damaged a condominium building in northwest Edmonton, an investigation by an engineering firm has revealed the building was not constructed properly to begin with and could collapse at any moment \u2014 so residents are being urged to leave immediately.<\/p>\n
On March 12, a fire broke out at the Castledowns Pointe condo building (12618 152 Ave.), located in the Baranow neighbourhood in the Castle Downs area.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n In the aftermath, structural engineers from Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. (RJC) were hired to inspect the fire-damaged portion of the building, a letter to residents from property manager Simco Management explained (scroll down to read the full letter.)<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cDuring their May 2023 review, RJC discovered that the actual construction of the fire-damaged portion of the building was not the same as the engineered drawings on file, and that the as-built conditions were under-designed to carry the structural load of the building,\u201d the Sept. 1 letter stated.<\/p>\n That led to questions about whether the non-fire damaged parts of the building also had the same issues and a deeper investigation was launched in mid-August, after an initial report was received from RJC.<\/p>\n The property manager said that investigation included opening up areas of drywall to get a deeper look at the framing and construction.<\/p>\n The engineers released a follow-up report on Aug. 30, which revealed troubling news about state of the building.<\/p>\n The building manager summarized the grim findings in its letter to residents.<\/p>\n \u201cThe report of the structural engineers advises that under certain conditions, all or a portion of the building could fail structurally (i.e. collapse),\u201d the management company said, adding it had an ethical obligation to share the findings with the City of Edmonton, which it said it did on Aug. 31.<\/p>\n Simco said it has been in touch with the city and is waiting on an official response \u2014 and while no formal order has been issued by the municipality, \u201cit is our expectation that an evacuation order will be issued.\u201d<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n In the meantime, residents were told over the long weekend they should not wait.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is the recommendation of RJC that due to the potential life safety issue, that the remaining residents vacate the building as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelly-Anne Durand has owned a unit in the building for 15 years \u2014 she initially bought it for her son but now lives in it herself.<\/p>\n She said the building has also suffered water damage several times in the past, to the point all the pipes in the building were ripped out and replaced.<\/p>\n \u201cFor my suite alone, they\u2019ve had to tear it apart and repair it three times because of floods,\u201d she said, adding her floors were replaced during that process \u2014 but more recently, she noticed the boards have been lifting.<\/p>\n \u201cThey had all these nice floors in and I have, literally, stickers on my floors because they\u2019re all lifting and everything\u2019s moving. It\u2019s a lot recently and was kind of scary \u2014 but I never thought it was going to be this scary,\u201d Durand said.<\/p>\n Durand received her copy of the letter from the management company on Saturday, informing her of structural issues she said she suspected existed.<\/p>\n \u201cThey told us we had to be out immediately. To pack a bag and leave and not wait until there\u2019s more information, that they are worried about the building collapsing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s terrifying what we\u2019ve been living in and it\u2019s (only) what they\u2019ve seen,\u201d Durand said, adding she fears there could be even more extensive water damage issues not yet discovered.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s scary and devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n Durand added because the City of Edmonton has not yet ordered an official evacuation, she and other residents can\u2019t access help from the Red Cross.<\/p>\n \n\t\tTrending Now<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\tUBC study: What happens when you give homeless people $7,500?<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\tOntario housing minister resigns amid Greenbelt land swap scandal<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n She said she also couldn\u2019t find vacant hotels. She has insurance and isn\u2019t too worried about herself \u2014 but she said her roommates are low-income and do not have coverage.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m pretty simple,\u201d she said. \u201cI can make do, I\u2019ll sleep on people\u2019s couches but they\u2019re younger and they\u2019re terrified. What\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen?\u201d<\/p>\n Durand said she initially took essentials and left. On Monday, she returned to start packing up her belongings in preparation of a longer absence.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to move anything because they\u2019re worried about us moving furniture \u2014 it causing some sort of weird stress, everyone doing everything at once and then all of a sudden we have a collapse, right?\u201d Durand said.<\/p>\n Durand estimates she\u2019s spent over $50,000 on repairs at her condo and doesn\u2019t expect to recoup her investment.<\/p>\n She worries the property is now uninsurable, or will take years and countless dollars to fix \u2014 and even then, she fears no one who knows the history will want to buy a unit at Castledowns Pointe.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cLike what \u2014 they\u2019re going to put a few beams in and fix it? This whole place has to be gutted,\u201d she alleged.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest, I would like this building just to be torn right down, to lose the whole building. It\u2019s been a nightmare and I think there\u2019s going to be continuous things that\u2019s going to keep happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Durand said the next steps are not yet clear and she fears she\u2019ll end up paying for a home she can never live in again.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to walk away \u2014 even losing all the money I did. I don\u2019t care. If I could walk away, where I don\u2019t have a mortgage anymore, that would be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Global News reached out to Simco Management and Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. for more information but as of publishing, had not heard back.<\/p>\n Global News has been unable to confirm what company or companies originally constructed the condo building.<\/p>\n A request for more information about the March 2023 fire was also sent to Edmonton Fire Rescue Services. This story will be updated when a response is received.<\/p>\n \n\t\t© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tThe fire damage to Castledowns Pointe condo building (12618 152 Ave.) in northwest Edmonton on March 12, 2023.\t\t\t\t<\/span> <\/p>\n\n
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