‘This is a nightmare’: Former Birchwood Terrace residents scramble to find new homes

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This article was published 11/05/2024 (511 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Former tenants of a Winnipeg apartment block that was suddenly evacuated after being deemed unsafe due to structural decay are spending the weekend scrambling to find new places to live.

Kayla Dussome, who lived in Birchwood Terrace with her partner and four-year-old twins, is hoping to find a home to rent, along with her mother and stepfather, who resided in a separate suite.

“We’re all left to find out what to do next,” Dussome, 24, said. “This is a nightmare. I feel it’s the worst dream. I just hope no one ever has to go through this situation.”

Birchwood Terrace’s roughly 250 residents were given just 12 hours’ notice to move out Thursday night, after engineers determined the five-storey building was at risk of collapsing due to deteriorating support beams.

The move-out continued throughout Friday, but many were forced to leave beds, couches, bicycles, barbecues and non-essential belongings behind.

Some former tenants showed up at the 171-suite block, at 2400 Portage Ave. in St. James, on Saturday, hoping to retrieve more items.

They were turned away by private security hired to keep an eye on the building, which is surrounded by a metal fence.

Dussome, her partner and her children are staying in a hotel for three nights. The emergency stay was arranged by the Canadian Red Cross, she said.

Her mother and stepfather were put up in a different hotel.

“As far as I know, the locks are changed and no one is allowed entry (to Birchwood Terrace),” said Dussome. “They said when it is deemed habitable and safe again people could go back, but it could be months.”

Andrew Boyce, who grabbed few belongings before leaving with his dog and cat, is hoping people will be allowed to return soon to collect the rest of their stuff.

“I basically rifled it into a bag and got out of there as soon as possible,” said Boyce, who is also looking for a new home, while staying in a hotel for three nights. “I’m essentially homeless. There’s not many places around that are pet-friendly, that are in a decent neighbourhood and that are priced accordingly.

“It’s just a huge mess. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”

He praised the Red Cross, which quickly arranged a hotel room for him. Others are staying with family or friends.

Henry Borger, a vice-president with Ladco, said it’s not known when former tenants will be allowed to retrieve the rest of their possessions.

“We are working with our engineers and the city to determine what work needs to be done and how quickly it can be completed,” he wrote in a text message. “The building is secure and their possessions are safe.”

Given the risk of collapse, people who live in neighbouring houses were put on evacuation notice.

The city set up a reception centre at the nearby Holiday Inn Airport West on Thursday night to provide support for housing or health-care needs.

Almost 200 people registered at the centre, which was expected to close Saturday. Of those, 128 required food and accommodation, said city spokeswoman Felicia Wiltshire.

“The city is now working with partners to determine next steps related to finding more permanent accommodations,” she wrote in an email.

Some Winnipeg residents have rallied around former tenants. Strangers have posted offers of help in Facebook groups.

Dussome said a person who lives nearby approached her while she was moving out and offered to store some of her belongings in their garage.

“It’s so nice that some people in the community are coming together to help us,” she said.

Shortline Moving Solutions, a locally owned company, offered moving trucks before the building became off-limits. It has also offered to store items at no cost.

“Giving back to the community is a big part of who we are and what we do,” said owner Alex Hupe. “With them being evicted in less than 24 hours, that’s got to be so stressful. At the end of the day, it’s only going to be community that’s there for us.”

Birchwood Terrace is managed by Lakewood Agencies, which is owned by Ladco Company.

Borger has said structural engineers were brought in, after corrosion was discovered in a support column in the underground parkade. Corrosion was found in several columns, which support the building’s weight.

The city has said it was notified Tuesday. It carried out an inspection Wednesday, confirming severe deterioration in the parkade.

The building’s owner received the city’s evacuation order Thursday night. Tenants were initially told they had to be out the following morning.

Former residents have been through a wringer of emotions since then. Amid complaints about the handling of the situation, some told the Free Press they believe they could have been given notice earlier in the week.

“There’s a lot of mixed feelings that I’m feeling about it all,” said Dussome.

Some walked out of an information meeting at the Holiday Inn on Friday.

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“It was very heated,” said Dussome, who didn’t stay until the end. “It was getting nowhere. People were screaming.”

Some former tenants raised the possibility of a class-action lawsuit.

A letter said their leases were terminated, and they would be given cheques for May’s remaining rent and damage deposits.

It’s unclear when or if the building, constructed in the 1960s, will be occupied again. The city has said it was the owner’s responsibility to ensure the block was maintained or inspected over the years.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.