WELLAND, ONT. — Evertrust Developments, owners of the condominium project in Welland, Ont. that has twice suffered partial collapses, has issued a statement describing its efforts to co-operate with building authorities and ensure completion of the job.
The Upper Vista Welland project suffered a structural failure on Feb. 18 and a further partial collapse on Feb. 26, both on the south side of the building. The 226-unit, five-storey condo project under construction at 350 Prince Charles Dr. in Welland was originally targeted for completion later this year.
Evertrust said on April 18 it was issuing the statement in response to the “ongoing public interest of the project and a significant amount of speculative narratives being distributed.”
Since the first structural incident that occurred on the south tower in February, Evertrust has worked closely with the City of Welland and the Ministry of Labour (MOL), the firm said.
Evertrust said MOL inspectors have performed at least 20 site visits to the Prince Charles Drive location to address structural issues and ensure high safety standards for construction workers and the surrounding neighbourhood.
The first MOL order, issued Feb. 19, was a Make Safe Work Order.
Other subsequent work orders covered such requirements such as producing pre-cast concrete and architectural drawings, design calculations for vertical and lateral loads, forwarding employer registration forms for structural steel, stud walls and concrete, providing sections of steel where structural issues occurred, submitting a professional engineered letter verifying load capacities, and providing video footage of the incidents.
Evertrust said all requirements have been fully complied with to date as the MOL investigation continues, as have all other normal requests for inspections that take place during the course of a construction project.
“We continue to work in tandem with the City of Welland’s engineering team Kalos Engineering Inc., and requested their own extensive analysis of the structure which exceeds the usual scope of a periodic review over the normal course of construction.”
Evertrust said it is working with an engineer of record Mirkwood Engineering along with peer review engineering team CEP Forensic, who work with the city’s and MOL’s engineers.
Testing of materials is also taking place.
“The team at Evertrust looks forward to this phase of the project being completed and has already applied for a construction permit with the City of Welland to that end,” the release stated.
“Our commitment to high quality development and social responsibility has never wavered despite the challenges faced over the last several months and we look forward to being a valued part of the Welland community with Upper Vista Welland.”
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