City involved after windowpane tumbles from downtown Calgary apartment building

Update on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023:

West Village Towers is speaking out after a pane of glass fell to the ground last week.

The glass fell around 1:30 a.m. last Thursday from the building on 11 Street S.W.

The company disputes the tenant's claim nothing was done, saying they boarded up the window within hours and blocked off the main entrance and cleaned up the debris.

The city says a safety code notice was issued, mandating the construction of a concrete perimeter fence around the affected area and the company says it has built a fence that the city has signed off on.

The company has until Sept. 12 to submit an engineering report on the cause and the city says it has been fully co-operating.

--

Original story from Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023 follows:

The city has stepped in after a large windowpane fell 120 metres from a high-rise apartment building in Calgary's downtown west end.

Tenants say the landlord did nothing about it for days.

Last Thursday at 1:30 a.m., one renter says she heard a loud bang and broken glass fell all over her 37th-floor balcony at West Village Towers.

She says glass also fell to the street below. A window panel is boarded up high above.

The tenant says she reported the incident to building management but that says nothing was done, no communication was sent to her or other tenants, and glass remained on the ground.

On Monday, she says, she reported the incident to the city, and an inspector checked out the scene on Tuesday.

The city has now erected fencing around the sidewalk.

The city allegedly told the tenant her report was the first it had heard of the incident.

"It was like a bomb had gone off above me and I just heard all this glass, basically, breaking, so I quickly shut the door, ran back inside and then it was like a shower of glass came down on my terrace. Chunks of glass were hitting my kitchen windows. I could see it coming down," Laila Massoudi said.

"It's terrifying. I am concerned about the safety of the building. I am concerned about the management response to a massive safety issue. This is a huge high-rise in a busy area and windows just falling out -- I don't know, it's very unsettling."

The city tells CTV News Calgary that a safety code notice has been issued to the property owner, mandating construction of a concrete fence around the area.

The city says the owner must get an engineer to investigate the cause and submit a report by Sept. 12.

In an emailed statement, West Village Towers tells CTV News Calgary tenant and staff safety is its top priority, and it is taking a comprehensive and preventative approach to the glass breakage.

No one was hurt.