Tenants at a Langford apartment tower have been ‘strongly advised’ to relocate by City officials after a report found safety and structure issues with the building.
The report was received by the City late Friday afternoon and tenants at Danbrook One, located on Claude Rd, were notified the same evening.
In addition to issuing the advisory, the City also revoked the Occupancy Permit for Danbrook One.
The report, prepared by Canadian engineering firm WSP Global, was requested by the City following a complaint about Danbrook One’s structural integrity and safety performance.
A summary of the report’s findings identified “issues related to the Gravity system, and issues related to the Seismic Force Resisting System.”
The City says that these issues require immediate short-term intervention and represent ‘life safety concerns’ that will need a more detailed review from WSP.
“It’s up to the owner whether he lets the tenants stay there,” said Mayor Stewart Young. “Just to err on the side of caution we need to make sure that the people have the option to move out. So the City is covering their hotel stay, and they’ll be covering the transfer to another place so they’re not out of pocket at Christmas time.”
Young added that some of the residents in the 90-unit building have already taken the option to relocate temporarily.
Some tenants expressed their frustration with the situation. “I’m past the angry point,” said Tad Martin, one of the building’s tenants. “I’m past the upset point. I really just, I want to lay down and go to sleep and wish this never happened. But now it’s off to finding a new place.”
Many of the tenants, however, are impressed with the city’s response to the problem.
“The City of Langford, I really commend them for their efforts in trying to secure temporary accommodation for us right now,” said Funmilade Adenlu, another tenant. “Although it is not an easy because it came suddenly, unexpectedly.”
Ben Hillier, who has lived in the building since it opened, echoed that sentiment. “They really helped us out,” he said. “Everyone’s kind of pulling through to make sure everybody has a place to stay, especially around Christmas.”
The City says that tenants should be prepared for a minimum 7-day stay if they choose to relocate to a hotel.
Mayor Young says that he can’t say definitively what the timeline on the building assessment will be. “It could be anywhere from two weeks to two months,” said Young. “We’re going to try and know more in about a week…This is ongoing and engineers are working very hard to come up with a solution and fix the problem.”
The City has stationed staff at a Command Response Centre at 780 Goldstream Ave where residents can speak with staff directly to find temporary accommodation or long-term housing.
The hours of operation for the Centre are:
- December 20 until midnight
- December 21, 7am to 9pm
- December 22, 7am to 6pm
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