Owners hopeful evacuated condo can be repaired, but it could cost millions – Edmonton Journal

In the nearly six months since a four-storey apartment was evacuated in Fort Saskatchewan, the condos president is hopeful owners can repair the building, and its lawyer said that repair could take up to seven months and cost millions of dollars.

This has been a very long and difficult time for us. Those in the evacuated building are still paying their mortgages, taxes, and condo fees as well as rent on another place to live, said George Cook, president of the Riverview Estates Condominium Board, at a news conference Monday.

Cook and five members of the board represent 87 condo owners, including 44 families who were forced to evacuate the complex at 9930 100 Ave. after the city of Fort Saskatchewan declared it structurally unsafe on Aug. 2.

A neighbouring apartment does not carry the same risk but, as members of the same Riverview Estates corporation, its unit owners could also be responsible for bearing the cost of repairs.

As the magnitude of the repairs has continued to unfold, to say that we are in shock is an understatement. The extent of the repairs and effect of the financial burden is heartbreaking. Many are worried that people may lose their homes or investments over this crisis, said Cook.

Riverview Estates is planning an information meeting in March after what Cook described as an onerous and complicated process, including working with engineers and a cost consultant, to come up with cost-effective solutions, Cook said. He thanked everyone who had a hand in helping, including the Red Cross, which was able to provide temporary hotel stays and food for those who needed it, he said.

This could have happened to anybody, said Hugh Willis, lawyer for the condo corporation. If owners approve a rebuild, it could be completed in five to seven months, Willis said.

The buildings problems are primarily in the crawl space under the first floor, said Willis.

In August, he said those problems appeared to be related to flaws in the buildings construction.

An inspection report by the citys safety codes officer in July 2002, obtained by Postmedia through an access to information request, notes that the crawl space foundation has been backfilled, but at that point, no poly or poly cover had been installed yet. In March 2003, another report said there was minor touch-up and clean-up work to do, but the apartment, built by Nova Construction Ltd., was ready for occupancy.

When residents first started complaining about spongy floors last summer, structural engineers were brought in to inspect and the citys safety codes officer issued an evacuation order.

The engineering company behind the condominium complex, Jacobsen Hage Engineering, had its engineering permit cancelled just one year after the condos were built.

lijohnson@postmedia.com

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Owners hopeful evacuated condo can be repaired, but it could cost millions - Edmonton Journal