Salus expects to spend millions on upgrades and work on the Scott Street building for at least another year
After a devastating flood, tenants of an affordable housing complex may have to wait up to a year for repairs that are expected to cost millions of dollars before they can move back in. The complex’s executive director says this could be the case.
When a pipe broke at the Ottawa Salus building on Scott Street in early February, dozens of people had to leave their homes.
“It’s been quite a trip. I can tell you that I have never been through anything like this “Mark MacAulay, who runs Ottawa Salus, said this.
He said, “On the third floor, we had to do a complete gut, which means we had to take everything back to the studs.” “And there’s a lot more work to be done on the other floors.”
Dozens of people with addiction or mental health problems live in the building. Many of them get help from the provincial government’s Ontario Disability Support Program.
In February, a fire sprinkler system broke on the fourth floor of the five-story building, letting out nearly 20,000 liters of water in about half an hour. This caused a flood that spread to the rest of the building.
Some people lost everything they owned.
Dominic Dulude-Daigle is happy with his life. Many of the things in his apartment on the third floor were saved.
“I woke up and was drinking coffee when I heard the alarm,” he said.”When I went outside, there was water everywhere. It wasn’t very good.”
He lived in a hotel for a month, but he now lives in a Salus building near Billings Bridge Shopping Centre. Only two of the 42 people who had to move because of the fire are still staying in hotels. The rest have found more permanent places to live.
“I lived there. I’ve been there since the building was first put up, “he said. “Finding out we have to move was a shock.”
Renovations will likely cost millions of dollar
Even though the building was built in 2006, the flooding revealed some old problems that MacAulay hopes will be fixed by the renovations.
During these renovations, the window air conditioners will be taken out, brittle pipes will be replaced, and the building’s electrical wiring will be redone. He also said that they hope to improve the insulation so that it keeps pests out better.
Still, he said that some of these upgrades aren’t covered by insurance.
He thinks that the cost of the extra work will be at least $2 million.
In the days and weeks after the flood, donors and sponsors stepped up, and MacAulay hopes they’ll be willing to do so again.
“The support from the community has been out of this world.”
