The Duke of Somerset...

[fajrdrako]

Does anyone know what is happening at the corner of Bank and Somerset? In Ottawa?

When I was passing by to go to the Silver Snail this evening, it was blocked to traffic, and it looked as if things were happening at the Duke of Somerset, the building on the corner, the one under renovation, pending provincial approval. The most recent article I can find about it is this.

I was glad I was walking. Traffic was a mess.

Comments

[takhys]

From what I heard, the dude who bought the building was having it renovated and one of the bigger bits of machinery accidentally took out a part of a load-bearing wall -- so it partially came down on the folks inside. Fortunately, everyone got out okay.

According to a gent on the street, the owner of the building had originally wanted to demolish the building (because it was cheaper than renovation) but was told that it was historical and he couldn't take it out.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. Now there's an interesting revelation.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Well, if it had to go, it has to go. We can't have collapsing buildings sitting around on Bank street. But it's a pity.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

The timing bothers me, is all.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Remember that heritage building on Waller St. a few years ago? That collapsed in the middle of the night?

You just never know.

I don't think I was ever inside that building - it always looked pretty seedy (despite its appealing architecture) and may not have been well kept up in the first place.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

I do remember the Waller Street incident. I've often wondered about that in the years since.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I don't remember the Waller St. incident. What was it?

[dewline.livejournal.com]

I thought we were talking about that same building that accidentally(?) came down when the owner found out about the heritage designation.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Oh, right. I'm losing track of my own conversation. I thought you meant another Waller st. incident... Maybe I was just really, really tired by that point in the conversation?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I heard that story originally, but I had the impression walking by today that somehing else had happened - something that warranted another street closure. But maybe not. Maybe they're just working on it again, and took advantage of - no, wait, it wasn't a quiet time - it was late rush hour.

Huh.

I agree with the officials who didn't want the building demolished. It's a nice one. New buildings are never as attractive.

[takhys]

It is a mystery for the ages.

So, uh, have some Torchwood outtakes? (warning: bad language)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

LOL! I love those guys!

But you knew that.

[obelix]

Basically it's what the article says. The building had a collapse and one person was trapped. They have to shore it up to stabilize it so that it doesn't completely collapse.

The reason why they have the street blocked is because if it did collapse it could do so onto the street and anyone there. It's also possible that the traffic that travels on Bank st normally (like buses and trucks) could cause the collapse because of vibration. So until it's stabilized that part of Bank st and the surrounding areas are closed to traffic and have police cars making sure that everyone obeys the closure.

And yes the traffic is a major pain since I usually drive by there to work...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I often take the #1 or #7 bus to work, and the detour adds a good ten minutes to the trip. What a pain.

I did have the impression something new had happened there today, but maybe not.

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

What happened is that the owner hired a bunch of people to completely gut the inside of the building. More than three weeks ago, a man inside a piece of heavy machinery hit a load-bearing wall, which caused a good part of the exterior shell of the building to collapse, some it on top of him. Luckily he was in steel cage inside the machinery, tho it took 2-3 hours to extract him. Only very minor injuries to anyone.

The scuttlebutt is that the owner had a bunch of people who didn't know what they were doing, including employees of his car wash business.

Ever since, though, the intersection's been closed because, if the building was to fully collapse, it would likely hit people in the intersection or even the other side of the street. It has to be certified as safe by inspectors, and this is taking a LONG time. They city keeps saying next week, and then it turns into the next next week. More than $100K in policing costs alone to redirect traffic away from the intersection.

Latest news is that it will cause the Christmas parade to reroute: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/11/14/ot-parade-071114.html

An earlier explanatory story:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/11/09/ot-bank-somerset-071109.html

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the links. I knew about the stuff from a couple of weeks ago, but I was wondering what was going on yesterday. I guess they were just getting to work at last!

[bunsen-h.livejournal.com]

See also http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/10/22/ot-building-collapse-071022.html . The owner has several other properties and businesses, and seems to have a record of using untrained employees from one business to do work in another. This is not at all good when the job involves something like controlled demolition or construction..!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Especially on a busy intersection on Bank Street! I'll be really, really glad when traffic - specifically, bus traffic - goes through there again.