53-year-old evacuee of building next to UBCO’s construction site dies after being relocated
One of the people evacuated from a building next to the troubled UBC Okanagan construction site has died, and his family believes the dislocation contributed to his death.
Jim Hadgraft was among 84 people evacuated from Hadgraft-Wilson Place after numerous cracks, uneven floors, and other problems were found in the six-storey building. It’s believed the structural issues relate to ground-shifting caused by a massive excavation dug at the UBCO site.
Like the other evacuees, the 53-year-old Hadgraft, who had Down syndrome, had been living in motels since the April 1 evacuation. His sister Sue Bauman says he had been anxious and depressed for the past month, and had started wandering long distances despite being unsteady on his feet.
“He was very anxious, a bit depressed, and confused. He’d lost his home,” Bauman said Friday in an interview. “For anybody who’s a little bit vulnerable - and he was certainly very vulnerable, like everybody else in that building - I think this displacement was considerably more impactful than it would be on you or I.”
On at least one occasion recently, Hadgraft walked the five kilometres from the Ramada down to Hadgraft-Wilson Place, where he tried to enter the building. On-site security phoned police, who drove him back to the motel.
Hadgraft fell last Sunday evening and broke his leg. He was taken to Kelowna General Hospital and was scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday but he passed away before the operation.
“The hospital staff and coroner told me that his heart had stopped,” Bauman said. “Personally, I think the stress and pain of him fracturing his tibia might have been just too much for Jim.
“At Hadgraft-Wilson Place, he had a very basic routine. He knew what he was doing, where he was going, and how to get there. To put him out in a motel on the highway, it was a completely different environment for him. It wasn’t his home,” she said.
A celebration of life for Hadgraft will be held May 18 at the Ramada Inn, where he had been relocated since the building that bears his family’s name, in recognition of a donation they made toward its construction, was deemed unsafe.
“He was kind, caring, and always put others first,” the family wrote in his obituary. “Jim was exactly what Hadgraft Wilson Place was intended to be about - inclusion, acceptance, kindness, and selflessness.
“Whether it was holding the door open for people to enter the building, or carrying other’s groceries and parcels, Jim was there. Jim was extremely proud to have his family name on the building and to have called it home,” the obituary reads.
At the UBCO construction site at 550 Doyle Ave. an excavation originally planned to a depth equivalent to five stories was underway when cracks began appearing in some nearby buildings. A building across Doyle Avenue was deemed unsafe to occupy last fall, and the Legion branch of Bertram Street was closed in December with the organization relocated to temporary premises.
On March 31, the Kelowna fire department was called to Hadgraft-Wilson Place, and officials discovered significant cracks and other problems throughout the building. An evacuation of its residents, many but not all of whom have intellectual disabilities, was ordered.
“I can’t believe what’s happening. I just don’t like this at all,” resident Dale Ramsden said the morning of April 1. “Some people have been crying pretty much straight since we found out we have to be evacuated. Most of us, we’re handicapped. It makes things hard.”
Within 24 hours, all the residents had been relocated to motels, where they have remained since while awaiting word on when, or if, they will be able to move back into Hadgraft-Wilson Place.
UBC Okanagan voluntarily stopped work on the building, but it has since resumed. The excavation depth has been reduced.
This week, work is underway at the site for the installation of piles. Long, slender columns are being inserted into the ground to help support the weight of the planned 43-storey building.
“Hourly monitoring of soil movement will continue and all data indicate that conditions remain stable,” the university said in its most recent update, on April 18. “Engineering teams have advised this work is not expected to impact surrounding properties, including Hadgraft Wilson Place.”
Upon hearing of the death of Jim Hadgraft, UBCO principal Lesley Cormack issued this statement: “I was deeply saddened to learn of Jim Hadgraft’s passing. As a family namesake and a centre of the community at
Hadgraft-Wilson Place, we know Jim will be remembered for the kindness and care that he showed to everyone around him.
“I can only imagine how difficult this is for his family, friends, and the Pathways Abilities Society community. I have offered my condolences and those of UBC Okanagan on behalf of students, faculty, and staff to his family at this challenging time.”
Bauman said her mom Jean Hadgraft, who is 97 and lives in Kelowna, is devastated by the death her son Jim.
“It’s really difficult for her, as you can imagine,” Bauman said. “She said to me, ‘My Jim is gone, isn’t he?’ And I said, ‘Yes, Mom, he is’.
“She said to me, ‘I’d prefer to think of this as a really bad dream.’”