Displaced tenants’ hotel costs still covered by taxpayers Birchwood Terrace evacuated six months ago over structural concerns By: Chris Kitching Posted: 5:40 PM CST Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024

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This article was published 12/11/2024 (658 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Some tenants who were displaced when a St. James apartment block was deemed structurally unsafe six months ago are still living in hotels at the Manitoba government’s expense.

Carol Lynch and other Birchwood Terrace evacuees have questioned why taxpayers are covering the cost of hotel rooms instead of property owner Ladco Co. Ltd.

“It’s (the company’s) problem. Why should the province pay?” Lynch told the Free Press Tuesday.

“It’s (the company’s) problem. Why should the province pay?”–Carol Lynch

Some 250 tenants were forced to leave the building at 2440 Portage Ave. with little notice May 9 due to structural damage to steel supports in an underground parkade. Lynch and her dog, Trixie, have been in hotel rooms since then.

It was unclear how many tenants are still in hotels. Lynch said six are at the hotel she is staying in. The province would not say how many Birchwood Terrace residents continue to receive support.

As of Sept. 30, the government has spent $216,097 to support 136 residents “to ensure no one was left without a place to stay,” a spokesperson said.

The province would not say if it is trying or will try to recoup evacuation-related expenses from Ladco. A company official did not respond to a request for comment.

In June, Premier Wab Kinew said businesses such as Ladco should foot the bill when residents are displaced.

“You have a private company who’s created a situation of stress for so many people, and now it’s up to the taxpayers of Manitoba to step in. Is that fair?” he said at the time.

Lynch plans to return to her apartment suite — and her belongings that are still there — when repairs are completed and Birchwood Terrace is deemed structurally safe for occupancy.

A break-in at the fenced-off complex Sunday night gave her and other tenants one more thing to worry about amid an already stressful ordeal.

“It pisses me off,” she said of the incident.

Evacuees were initially supported by the city and the Canadian Red Cross. The province took over June 1 and extended support beyond a June 30 deadline for people who remained in hotels.

Some tenants moved in with family or friends. Others relinquished their suites when they found new homes to rent via their own searches or Ladco-owned property manager Lakewood Agencies.

Residents were eventually allowed back in to retrieve belongings.

As Lynch began to wait it out in a hotel, an initial tentative timeline from Lakewood Agencies suggested tenants could return after Aug. 31, in a best-case scenario.

She had hoped to be back home by now, but the potential return date continued to be pushed back.

Lakewood Agencies informed tenants Oct. 29 at least three more weeks of work must be completed before full-time occupancy can be permitted, according to a message obtained by the Free Press.

Due to the “unforeseeable delays,” returning tenants have until March 1, 2025 to sign leases with special rent and conditions, the message said. They were initially given a deadline of Jan. 1, 2025.

Lynch said she is on a limited income, receiving disability support, and unlikely to find an affordable rental unit in the same area. Some buildings do not accept pets.

The province initially covered daily food vouchers for tenants who were in hotels. Lynch and her dog are now in a room with a kitchenette.

“It’s not fun living in a hotel. It’s very boring,” she said. “It’s kind of depressing.”

Lynch last checked on her suite at Birchwood Terrace about a week ago.

Winnipeg police arrested two people after officers were called to a report of a break-in at the building at about 11 p.m. Sunday.

“(The suspects) breached a security fence and then they accessed the building,” said police spokesman Const. Pat Saydak. “Property security noticed that they were there and alerted us.”

The suspects fled but were arrested nearby on Assiniboine Crescent. A police dog was used to find the pair.

A 20-year-old woman and 38-year-old man are charged with break and enter. The woman was allegedly in possession of break-in tools.

Saydak said officers determined no property was stolen.

The building’s owner hired private security to keep an eye on the property after the city issued the evacuation order in May.

Kim Scott, whose late 90-year-old mother, Florence Scott, was among the evacuees, was disappointed when she learned of the break-in.

Scott said she made a police report in October, after she and her brother were allowed into their mother’s suite and noticed items, including lamps, a stand mixer and a portable heater, appeared to be missing.

She said she believes the stress of the sudden move contributed to her mother’s death July 30.

“I’m distraught, because my mom’s not here anymore. These (belongings) are precious to us,” she said. “At the time, it felt like there was no security, because how did this happen?”

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca