'Incredibly frustrating': Langford highrise evacuated again due to safety concerns

Residents of a troubled apartment building in Langford have once again had to vacate the property due to safety concerns with the building.

On Monday afternoon, residents of RidgeView Place, formerly known as Danbrook One, were told to leave.

The notice came after the city received a report from a third-party engineering firm saying that it had "completed an initial visual inspection of the building and concluded that the structure is unsafe."

The firm added that in the interest of public safety, it recommended that no one live in the building until a more detailed analysis could be completed.

"As a result, the city made the decision to revoke the occupancy permit and instructed Centurion [the building owner], to notify residents immediately," said the city in a release Monday.

TROUBLED DEVELOPMENT

This is the second time that the city has revoked the occupancy permit for the building within four years.

Problems with the building in the 2700-block of Claude Road first came to light in December 2019, when the City of Langford took the unusual step of warning residents of the new build that their homes might be structurally unsafe.

The occupancy permit for the 90 unit building was revoked soon after.

The building was opened again to residents in April 2022 after upgrades to the building were made.

"Needless to say, we are incredibly frustrated and concerned to hear that there are ongoing issues with this building that should have been addressed when it was first [reassessed] in 2019," said Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson.

"If the city had the information we have today, the city would have never issued the occupancy permit for April 2022," he said.

Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson on April 24, 2023. (CTV News)

Goodmanson says the city has told building owner Centurion that it must complete an assessment from a "third party designated professional structural engineer, registered and in good standing with Engineers and Geoscientists BC," before the city will issue another occupancy permit.

"I recognize that this move is going to be shocking to the residents and I want them to know that the city is supporting Centurion to make sure that residents receive all the [support] they need," he said.

He also said it's up to Centurion to help secure housing for tenants who have been displaced.

"At Centurion Property Associates Inc. our first priority is the safety and security of our residents," said the company in a statement Monday afternoon.

"In recent days, we have moved swiftly and diligently to respond to interim results of an investigation that were brought forward by the Engineers and Geoscientists of BC ('EGBC'). We immediately initiated and engaged independent engineers who visited the site and identified serious safety concerns on April 23," the company said.

Centurion says it notified the city that it was planning on telling residents to vacate the building before the city announced it was revoking the occupancy permit.

"We recognize that there is never a convenient time to receive this notice and share our residents' frustration for the significant inconvenience that this will cause," the statement continued.

"In recent years we have remediated the property in response to recommendations previously put forward by the EGBC in 2019 and only learned a few short days ago that an investigation was taking place," said Centurion.

"As we work to remedy this difficult situation for residents, we will continue to listen to our residents and do everything within our capability to support them through this transition."