Low-income tenants told to leave over UBC construction site risk
CBC
More than 80 residents of a low-income apartment building in Kelowna, B.C., have been told they need to leave because a nearby construction site has caused a "significant" risk to life and safety.
A statement from B.C. Housing says the 84 people who live in Hadgraft Wilson Place will have to move out by Tuesday after recent geotechnical and structural engineering reports showed a shoring wall at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan (UBCO) construction site is unstable.
A slip "could cause serious structural damage" to the apartment building, B.C. Housing says.
Kelowna Fire Chief Dwight Seymour said in a statement the level of risk is "significant enough to begin the evacuation process to ensure the life and safety of occupants and first responders."
B.C. Housing said new information about the risks of the shoring wall emerged after earlier reports showed construction activity at the UBCO site caused cracks in the walls and windows of the apartment building.
The construction site is the location for UBCO's $263-million Downtown Kelowna project, which began in November 2023.
Spanning an entire city block, it is set to house a 43-storey high-rise and a four-level underground parkade. It's required the largest excavation carried out in downtown Kelowna to date.
Pathways Abilities Society, which operates the low-income apartment building, is offering accommodation for tenants who need to temporarily relocate to a hotel.
Society executive director Charisse Daley said tenants and staff at the building are devastated by the unexpected evacuation notice.
"We're beyond frustrated. This simply shouldn't be happening and it was preventable," said Daley in a statement.
"We have been notifying UBC Trust for months of the issues looking for solutions to the initial damage and wanting to ensure the long-term stability of the building," read the statement.
However, Daley said the message they received from the university is that they "are not confident" the construction is causing the damage.
Daley said staff have formed "supporting caring relationships" with the tenants and it's just unimaginable for tenants to be evacuated so soon after being allowed to move into the new building.
"We're playing triage to address the immediate short-term problem while working on the longer-term solutions," she said.