Fifteen units evacuated at Harbour Place for ‘structural work’

Citing structural work that needs to be done to the building, Gary Bennett, owner of Bendale Property Management, confirmed that some of the units at Harbour Place Condominiums have been evacuated.

The 120-unit building located on Ontario Street and right on the water has evacuated 15 units from one side of the building, Bennett explained.

“The only evacuation that has been undertaken at the moment has been an area of the building where the unit number ends with the number 02; i.e. units 202, 302, 402, etc.,” Bennet said, noting that two of those units were already vacant.

“The units where the residents have been asked to temporarily vacate are located in an area of the building that has been identified as needing some structural work to be undertaken. The order to evacuate those units was given by the building engineer.  It has been done in the interest of resident safety.”

Bendale, which manages Harbour Place, has erected fencing around the site as an exclusion zone prior to the repair work commencing.

“The engineer has determined that the units in the building that are presently occupied are in a safe condition and are not exposed to any risk associated with the wall condition related to the 02 section of the building,” Bennett said.

In a press release, Bendale said the evacuation will only be in place “while corrective measures are being taken to correct a localized structural concern. The concern is localized to a single panel on the building.”

“Protection measures have been taken in an extreme abundance of caution in the interests of both residents and public,” the press release reads, noting that Bendale expects to “have a resolution in short order.”

“Our building and structural engineers are working diligently on corrective measures.”

Bennett said he was unable to confirm the cause of the issue, stating that engineers are currently looking into it.

“It appears to be isolated in one small area of the building. The remediation and repair work will be undertaken under the supervision of the building’s engineer,” he said. “Currently [there is] no confirmation of a completion date.”

Kingstonist will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as more information becomes available.