Businesses inside police HQ reopen after flood

Repairs are continuing after a weekend flood inside the Winnipeg police headquarters, as all five commercial tenants in the building expected to reopen Tuesday.

City spokesman David Driedger said while repairs are expected to continue through the week, the public can again access the building, at 266 Graham Ave., for in-person police matters.

“A full assessment of damage is ongoing, which is a precursor to any review of insurance claims,” Driedger said Tuesday.

He said the skywalk section through the second floor of the building reopened Sunday and the five tenants were expected to reopen Tuesday.

Canada Post spokesman Phil Legault said its main floor postal outlet reopened Tuesday with regular hours and services.

“Cleaning crews were onsite into Monday cleaning the floor of debris and water and removing damaged ceiling tiles,” Legault said.

“There was no damage to mail or parcels. One of our retail point-of-sale units to service customers may have been affected. We are assessing that equipment piece and replacing ceiling tiles and possibly parts of the floor.”

A worker at the second-floor Subway outlet confirmed it was able to open. Other tenants include a Pizzanne’s U-Bake Pizza and an optometrist.

It’s not known how much damage was caused in the building, but a flood during construction more than a decade ago cost $4 million in repair costs.

This time, two people are accused of opening emergency water valves in a stairwell, accessible through the skywalk system.

Police sources say there is concern the repair costs could exceed $10 million.

During a media scrum Tuesday, Mayor Scott Gillingham said he didn’t think there was extensive damage done.

“Most of the damage, I understand, was limited to the tower,” said Gillingham. “But again, as the days are unfolding, the police and our members of our public service who deal with the city’s assets and buildings are working with the police to determine the extent of the damage. So we won’t know until the coming days.”

Several areas inside the Winnipeg Police Service HQ, the downtown office tower connected to it and in the second floor skywalk suffered extensive damage after water began gushing down a flight of stairs and pouring through ceilings Saturday just after 6 p.m.

A 51-year-old man and 36-year-old woman face several charges of mischief over $5,000. They were released on undertakings to appear in court at a future date.

Gillingham said the incident “gives us the opportunity to… take a look to see if there’s any protections of that building that we can put in place that are not currently there.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca