Edmonton condo at risk of collapse to be sold as corporate law clouds hope for court fight

The corporations behind the construction of an Edmonton condo building that was evacuated last year due to the risk of collapse no longer exist, which poses a legal hurdle for owners who were forced from their homes seven months ago.

All residents of Castledowns Pointe at 12618 152nd Ave. were ordered out last September after engineers investigating damage caused by a March 2023 fire uncovered dangerous structural flaws.

Investigators determined the 83-unit building, constructed in 1999, does not match the architectural designs on record and that construction did not comply with the building code.

Owners have decided to sell the condemned building and the land it sits on, rather than attempting to rebuild.

nyan,

So why wasn’t this building inspected? Or was the inspector complicit?

corsicanguppy,

Not enough inspectors to do a thorough job. Defunding inspection and compliance-checking is a classic pro-biz/anti-people play by the conservatives, and this is how it plays out; either tainted food, bridges collapsing, or something with normal people shafted.

xmunk,

This is a case where the outright disregard for quality and safety absolutely justifies piercing the corporate veil. Limited corporate liability is a useful tool to allow individuals to innovate without exposing themselves to personal bankruptcy. If I want to make a video game and a bank offers me a loan against the value of the company then they shouldn’t be able to come after my private residence… we should really let personal damages pass through the barrier more often though - this is how shell companies and shitty subcontractors bankrupt clients.

girlfreddy, (edited )
@girlfreddy@lemmy.ca avatar

Just look at this shit! Who the hell uses scrap lumber pieces in structure???

New rule – every company involved in planning and construction must purchase AND retain replacement cost insurance for ALL structures they build.

Edit to add – If said companies close down for any reason post-construction, all owners and/or investors of each company are liable for the insurance payments.

https://lemmy.ca/pictrs/image/6d2b8918-e5b2-4b0f-92da-96dcedd73556.jpeg

corsicanguppy,

Excellent point: get and keep insurance for complete liability .

Aaaaand build with concrete.

xmunk,

I grew up in America, so I don’t know if it’s the same way here, but when building a Nuclear Reactor companies would be required by the NRC to purchase extremely comprehensive insurance in case shit went tits up down the line - and if they ate into that insurance due to a temporary deficiency (i.e. a tritium leak) they’d need to top it up again before being allowed to reactivate.

Honestly, this sounds extremely reasonable for construction of domiciles as well - possibly with a redundancy discount for large firms (i.e. something similar to bank’s fractional reserve system).

pbjamm,
@pbjamm@beehaw.org avatar

No fucking way. I would not build a garden shed or even a dog house like that and I a just an amateur. This is from “professionally” built condos?!?

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