Evacuees closer to returning to Birchwood Terrace

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This article was published 18/12/2024 (270 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Birchwood Terrace evacuees are one step closer to moving back into their suites, after the City of Winnipeg issued an occupancy permit for the St. James apartment block Tuesday.

The news came as a relief to Debby Ross, one of the roughly 250 residents who were forced to leave in an emergency evacuation May 9, after the structure was deemed unsafe due to the deterioration of steel support columns in the underground parkade.

“We’re happy we’re going home after all this time,” said Ross, her voice breaking with emotion.

Ross said tenants who plan to return to Birchwood Terrace are waiting for more details, including a move-in date, from Ladco Co. Ltd., which owns the building and its property manager, Lakewood Agencies.

The city had said an occupancy permit would not be issued until all repairs had passed inspections and were supported by a certification letter from an engineer.

City spokesman Adam Campbell said the property owner was informed Tuesday that all conditions and requirements of a “mitigate unsafe condition order” had been met, and a full occupancy permit was issued.

“The occupancy permit allows for tenants to return to the building,” Campbell wrote in an email.

Ross said city inspectors looked at Birchwood Terrace last week.

Not all tenants plan to return to the block at 2440 Portage Ave. Some gave up their apartments and moved elsewhere in the months after the evacuation.

Residents who chose to keep their units had been told they had until April 1 to sign new leases, which gave them hope they could return early in the new year, Ross said.

She said an email sent to tenants Wednesday did not disclose a potential move-in date. The email said more work must be completed before suites can be occupied.

“Nobody has objected to going home, but the place is not suitable for us to go back yet,” she said.

She hopes that work includes a deep clean and new locks on suite doors, given they were accessible while repairs and other work was carried out at the site, she said.

A Ladco executive did not respond to a request for comment.

When she went to her suite last week, the door was wide open, belongings were scattered, furniture had been moved and her bed was dismantled, said Ross, who described the scene as “a shambles.”

Tenants were told they will be invited to do an inspection of their suite with management before signing a new lease.

For the first year, returning residents will pay the same rent as they did May 9, said Ross, whose one-bedroom suite is $1,100 per month.

Returning tenants will pay only half of the damage deposit amount, and they will get a month’s rent returned to them, Ross said.

She said Ladco gave $1,000 to each tenant who decided not to return to help with moving and other expenses.

Ross and her two pet cats have stayed in four hotels since Birchwood Terrace was evacuated more than seven months ago. The Manitoba government is covering the cost of hotel rooms.

About 20 tenants are in the hotel where Ross is currently staying.

“The best part of this whole scenario is we became a family,” she said. “We look after each other, which we never did in the apartment block.”

Displaced residents were initially supported by the city and Canadian Red Cross. The province took over June 1.

As of Sept. 30, the Manitoba government had spent slightly more than $216,000 to support 136 residents.

“As this issue is ongoing and involves funding from multiple sources, we do not have finalized numbers,” a government spokesperson wrote in an email Wednesday. “The province stepped up and ensured no tenant at Birchwood Terrace would go without a place to stay, and we will continue to support tenants as they work with Ladco to complete their move back home.”

Ross is among former tenants who’ve questioned why Ladco isn’t picking up the cost.

The province hasn’t said if it will try to recoup evacuation-related expenses from Ladco. Premier Wab Kinew said in June that the company, not taxpayers, should foot the bill.

“Going forward, our government continues to work to strengthen protections for renters,” the spokesperson wrote.

Ross, meanwhile, is looking forward to hosting barbecues on her balcony and just being home, once she is allowed to return.

“Just being back in my own place,” Ross said. “I miss everything so badly.”

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca