A St. James apartment block that was urgently evacuated due to a risk of collapse could be deemed safe to live in later this year, displaced tenants were told Monday.
In an email obtained by the Free Press, Birchwood Terrace’s property manager, Lakewood Agencies, said a preliminary, best-case schedule for stabilization and repairs would see people return to living in the complex after Aug. 31 at the earliest.
“If it’s possible to fix the building, I’d like to move back in there,” said former tenant Andrew Boyce, who welcomed the update. “It’s tough to govern your life when you don’t know what’s happening from one day to the next.”
Most residents were forced to leave belongings, such as beds and furniture, behind, when the Portage Avenue building had to be vacated May 9. Houses next to the block were put on evacuation notice.
The order given to about 250 apartment tenants — some with young children or pets — came after structural deterioration was discovered in several steel columns in an underground parkade.
Lakewood’s email said people could be allowed to retrieve smaller possessions after July 19 at the earliest, while the removal of larger items could begin a week later.
“I’m sure people will be happy they will get their stuff back,” said former tenant Kayla Dussome. “I don’t even know what I left behind, because a lot of people were packing up my stuff for me.”
Lakewood, owned by Ladco, cautioned the dates are subject to change, given the “complicated” construction, engineering and approval process.
“Accurately predicting dates requires information which we don’t have, for example: the existing condition of all columns; the contractor’s actual speed of construction; the engineer’s determination of what needs to be done to assure safety at each stage; and the city’s approval criteria and speed,” the email stated.
The email said all three parkade sections are being worked on at once, but it’s possible one section could be publicly accessible before the others.
City spokeswoman Felicia Wiltshire said an occupancy permit will only be issued once all work passes inspections and is supported by a certification letter by an engineer.
Boyce has been staying in a hotel since tenants were given hours’ notice to gather what they could and get out. He said Lakewood is helping him find a suite in a different block, with a discount on the first three months of rent.
Last week, the province said it is taking over from the Canadian Red Cross to cover the cost of temporary housing and meals for those still looking for permanent homes.
Wiltshire said 85 people were receiving assistance with accommodations as of Monday. The city has been co-ordinating supports for them.
Dussome said she will not return to Birchwood Terrace. She believes the emergency evacuation could have been avoided had structural decay been detected sooner.
After staying in hotels, she and her four-year-old twins moved into a rental house with her mother and stepfather, who lived in a separate suite at Birchwood Terrace.
“I feel very stressed. My heart goes out to all the people who don’t have a place,” said Dussome. “I just hope Ladco gives us the compensation we all deserve. A lot of us have paid out of pocket for moving costs. I hope it leads to … changes to ensure better care (of apartment buildings).”
Mayor Scott Gillingham has said the city and province were discussing the potential for changes to bylaws or legislation.
While she welcomed Monday’s update, Crystal Miles doesn’t plan to return to Birchwood Terrace. She and her daughter and grandchildren managed to get a suite in a different Lakewood-run building, which they are moving into this week.
The suite is larger and cheaper than the unit they rented before. They, too, are getting a rent discount for the first three months.
“It just kind of all worked out,” Miles, who is deaf, told the Free Press through an interpreter.
Her son-in-law and his band — the Bros. Landreth — used their touring van to help the family move out of Birchwood Terrace during last month’s scramble.
Miles was relieved to learn of potential dates for the retrieval of belongings.
When the building was evacuated, tenants received letters stating their leases were terminated, and they would be given cheques for May’s remaining rent and damage deposits.
Last month, an email from Lakewood said it will provide $200 in grocery store gift cards per suite.
Henry Borger, vice-president of Ladco, did not respond to a request for comment. Lakewood’s latest email said the agency is not speaking to the media.
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Chris Kitching
Reporter
Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.
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