Ministry allows builder on site of collapsed Welland condo construction

Niagara | Welland | Business | Community | Real Estate |

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Published March 3, 2023 at 9:59 am

Starting March 6, the builder will be allowed on site at 350 Prince Charles Drive to start cleaning up the mess made by two structural collapses. (Drone photo by Bobby Dzz Twitter)

Since the two collapses at the same condo construction at 350 Prince Charles Dr., Welland has virtually been on hold, waiting for the Ministry of Labour to give them the green light to move forward on the situation that has the local neighbourhood up in arms.

Upper Vista condominium suffered a structural failure on February 18 and again on February 26, both on the south side of the building.

The Ministry of Labour instantly stepped in, telling the builder to stop all work and then instantly restricted all access to the site since February 18. The city further fenced off the area after the February 26 collapse, expanding the size of the restricted area.

The first movement in the situation has now begun as the Ministry issued the builder a demolition permit to clean up the mess created by the two structural collapses.

“We remain committed to complying with directives from the Ministry of Labour while their investigation unfolds,” said Jack Tosta, Welland’s Chief Building Official.

“Issuance of building (demolition) permits is a legislated process that is prescribed in the Building Code Act, which also defines the City role in the process.”

The City says the scope of work the builder will start on March 6 is “to eliminate overhead safety hazards as specified in the Safe Working Procedure.”

What happens after the clean-up is in the hands of Welland councillors and staff after they get the Ministry’s final report.

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