TENANTS OUT INDEFINITELY
Kensington Manor’s ‘structural issues’ send 100 residents packing
As tenants of a Kensington apartment building scramble to find new homes, questions remain about what caused the building’s structural problems and why more than 100 residents were forced to evacuate with so little notice.
The city says it does not yet know what caused Kensington Manor’s structural problems, but an investigation is underway.
No one will be permitted to return to the seven-storey apartment block on 10th Street N.W. for the next two weeks while work is completed to “shore up” and “restabilize” parts of the building.
And a city official said Friday it could be “quite some time” before anyone can move back in.
Fire crews were called Thursday afternoon to assist in the evacuation of around 125 residents after engineers determined that there were “structural issues.”
Many residents had just minutes to pack their belongings.
“I feel shocked, I feel overwhelmed,” said resident Rebecca Gould, who has lived in the building since 2015 and worked part time at the Running Room store on the building’s ground floor for even longer.
“Not only was (Running Room) my first job out of high school, but it was the first place that I have lived in on my own — so there was a lot of sentimental value.”
Gould, who has been refunded her damage deposit, said she’s grateful to be able to stay with her parents while she looks for a new home.
“I know there’s a lot of people in that building that are angry or upset, I just feel shock,” said Gould. “It’s just a surreal experience.”
She said the building’s property managers, National Equity, have offered her alternative accommodations.
Some residents said they were aware the building was in need of some repairs. They were prohibited from using balconies facing 10th Street NW.
At a news conference Friday, Dennis Terhove, a supervisor with the city’s safety response unit, said some concerns about the building had been identified a year ago. Engineers hired to investigate a separate issue with the building’s balconies found further issues.
“This issue now is from that initial investigation. Our understanding is the engineers identified something going on in the interior of the building,” Terhove said.
He said engineers reported their concerns to the city on Thursday morning and it was determined an evacuation would be necessary.
“Public safety was primary,” Terhove said. “It may have been a little knee-jerk, but the reality is we want to ensure that we don’t have anybody getting injured or hurt or putting anybody at undue risk.”
Terhove said it was too early to say whether the owners of the building could face any penalties.
A message left with National Equity was not returned Friday.
Coun. Druh Farrell said while it’s still early, there are a lot of unanswered questions.
“It would be interesting to find out how this wasn’t caught sooner,” Farrell said, adding she heard reports that there had been cracks in the walls for some time.
Tenants are urged to contact the Calgary Housing Co. if they are unable to arrange accommodations.