A heritage building in the Winnipeg Exchange District had to be vacated due to concerns that a damaged beam could cause a possible collapse.
The owner of the building, Dennis Boyko, contacted an engineer to examine a crushed beam on the sixth floor of 92 Arthur Street. Then the engineer reported the problem to the city.
“For me, this is a very serious matter. You don’t want the building to collapse with people,” said Councilor Janice Lukes (Waverley West).
Last month, city inspectors determined that the damage was so severe that there was a risk of the building collapsing. They ordered the property to be evicted and a temporary repair done in five days.
“We found a number of other issues in areas of concern that we issued an order to mitigate an unsafe condition,” said Kelly Happychuk, head of application and research.
The beam has been propped up with poles until it can be permanently fixed. While the city is pleased that things are safe now, Boyko is not. He appealed the order to make a point.
“This was a very stressful time for me,” he said.
Boyko said five days was not enough time to get the job done. He struggled to contact someone in the property department to let them know he would need another day or two to comply.
He also doubted claims the building could have collapsed and said he suffered financially when he had to leave the premises for a few days and close his book business on the ground floor.
“This was a poor beam. I can’t understand how the poor beam could bring down, implode the whole building,” Boyko said.
The city said it is setting difficult dates for people to follow orders, not to let them expire.
Although property council advisers denied the appeal, they sympathized with Boyko over the lack of communication.
Cindy Tugwell of Heritage Winnipeg said the process needs to be improved, adding that the city should seek grants to encourage Exchange property owners to maintain their buildings.
“We are now in a crisis where many of the Exchange’s buildings need a lot of work to maintain them over the next decade,” Tugwell said.