‘POTENTIAL DISASTER’: City orders evacuation of Portage Avenue apartment building

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The tenants of a five-storey apartment building in St. James were ordered to evacuate over concerns over the building’s structural integrity with City officials worried that it may collapse.

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On Thursday, the City issued an order to the property owner of Birchwood Terrace at 2440 Portage Ave., to immediately vacate the building under the Winnipeg Building By-law and the Emergency Management By-law due to its unsafe condition. The tenants were advised beginning around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, with City officials going door-to-door Friday morning to advise tenants to ensure the building was being vacated.

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The City issued the order after being notified of a third-party engineering inspection of the building that uncovered severe deterioration of its structure in various locations, necessitating the vacate order.

“The decision to vacate was necessary to ensure the safety of the approximate 250 residents who reside in the building’s 171 suites,” said Jason Shaw, City’s Deputy Chief of Emergency Management and Public Information, speaking at a news conference at City Hall Friday morning.

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“This order was issued to prevent a potential disaster.”

“This decision was not made lightly,” added Mayor Scott Gillingham. “Our priority is the safety and well-being of tenants who live in the building. My hearts goes out to the residents of Birchwood Terrace. It’s an emotional and difficult time for many of them. I was by the apartment building this morning and it was a steady stream of residents carrying their belongings to their vehicles and moving trucks.”

Among those tenants was Tera Lynne Dussome who received a notice Thursday night at around 9:30 p.m., to prepare to evacuate. Dussome has a suite on the ground floor while her daughter and two twin four-year-old granddaughters live on the third floor.

“We’re hoping to get some hotel space,” she said. “That’s what we’re expecting but apart from that we don’t know (what’s going to happen).”

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City set up a reception centre in the nearby Holiday Inn Airport West with staff to help residents who do not have other options to find temporary accommodations and connect them with available resources and supports.

The timeline for repairs, inspections, and re-occupancy are not yet known; however, it’s anticipated that it may take several months to address the identified structural issues. Crews could be seen installing fencing around the building Friday afternoon.

As soon as she got the evacuation order, Dussome arranged for two U-Haul trucks which she was filling with their possessions on Friday. They don’t know where they’re going now but one thing is certain: they won’t be returning to the apartment building.

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“I’m not coming back here,” she said. “Because there’s no official word on how long it’s going to take to repair it or if they are going to repair it. Maybe they could be leveling it, I don’t know. But that just seems like a big long lingering unknown answer.”

She said recently that the owners had been doing a lot of work on the posts in the underground parkade. Still she was surprised that the whole building had to be evacuated.

“I thought it might just be section as a precaution so we were just sort of like, ‘What is the answer, what do we do?’ I’m happy that I made the decision that I did.”

City officials also went door to door to 30-40 properties in the neighbourhood informing residents that they are on an evacuation watch and may need to evacuate, if and when the structural condition of the apartment building requires it.

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A town hall-style meeting with residents and Henry Borger of Ladco Company Limited, was held at the hotel Friday. Borger was joined by a structural engineer who inspected the building prior to it being deemed structurally unsound.

At the City Hall press conference, Shaw said this is the first time in his 22 years with the City that he’s experienced a large-scale evacuation due to a potential structural collapse.

Built in 1962, the building is managed by Lakewood Agencies on behalf of Ladco, which said all leases are considered terminated effective immediately.

The timeline for repairs, inspections, and re-occupancy are not yet known; however, it’s anticipated that it may take several months to address the identified structural issues.

gdawkins@postmedia.com

X: @SunGlenDawkins

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