Welland condo project halted after second collapse in a week

Niagara | Welland | Business | Community |

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Published February 27, 2023 at 10:04 am

This was the condition of the Welland condo building after the first collapse on Feb. 18. A second collapse yesterday has seen the Ministry of Labour come in and shut down the site while it investigates both the cause and the damage. 

All construction on a five-storey, 226-unit condo project in Welland has been halted by the Ministry of Labour after the building suffered two collapses in the span of a week.

The first collapse of the building at 350 Prince Charles Dr. happened two weekends ago, which was enough to for the city to shut down the site.

However, with the second collapse yesterday (Feb. 26) at 10 am, it looks like the project, called the Upper Vista Condo development along the Old Welland Canal, due to be open this summer, will be put on hold for a significant amount of time.

In both cases – the first one happened at 7:15 pm on Feb. 18 – no one was injured.

The site was already virtually sealed off after the initial collapse, said Jack Tosta, Welland chief building official, who issued an Order to Remedy an Unsafe Building under the Building Code Act.

“At this time, the extent of the damage appears to be concentrated in the south position of the building involving the four floor slabs supported on the east exterior and interior load-bearing walls,” said Tosta early last week of the initial collapse.

“The cause of the damage is unknown as the building is still under construction with work taking place as recently as last Friday afternoon (Feb. 17).”

After the second collapse yesterday – both happening on the south side of the building, the Ministry of Labour became immediately involved and the entire area has been fenced off.

A spokeperson for the builder, Evertrust Developer, said the company suspects the second collapse is connected to the first, in that steel beams had buckled, weakening the structural integrity.

While the builder says it’s eager to return to the site to reinforce the remaining portion, it, too, is frozen off the site by the Ministry of Labour.

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