A building in Calgary’s downtown core continues to crumble and the city says crews will start a controlled demolition of the brick façade as soon as possible.
Bricks started to break loose on the back of the building at 608 7th Street S.W. on May 20 and crashed into the parking lot below.
Emergency crews blocked off access to the area and brought in containers to keep people out.
Fire crews returned to the scene at about 7:00 p.m. on Sunday after a number of bricks tumbled down into the containment area.
Several cars are still in the lot and officials are not sure when the owners will be able to get them out and assess the damage.
“There were some vehicles at the bottom that had been left in the parking lot,” says CFD Battalion Chief Ernie Molineaux. “One of them has been crushed severely. We won’t be able to get them out for some time.”
On Monday, a gaping hole was clearly visible in the side of the building and Marco Civitarese, the chief building official and manager with the City of Calgary Building Regulations says it is about six metres tall by four metres wide.
"So the mitigation measures that are being undertaken right now involve a controlled demolition of that east facade to a point that it is fully removed, so the public is not facing any danger at this time," said Civitarese.
Civitarese says crews will start at the top and that the work will begin right away.
"What you'll see is a full-facade opening with a buildup of a further wall on the inside at some point, to protect from the elements and to give some protection for other building components inside there," said Civitarese. "We're looking for them to start demolition as early as this afternoon depending on the availability of equipment and manpower."
Civitarese says they don't yet know what caused the building to crumble and that it is under investigation.
The road is open to drivers, but the bike lane on 7 Street, between 6 and 7 Avenue S.W. is closed. Pedestrians are being told to avoid the area as well.
