
Two buildings damaged as a result of construction at the UBC Okanagan downtown site will soon be demolished.
UBC Properties Trust, which is building the 43-storey tower, recently received demolition permits for the Canadian Legion building at 1380 Bertram Street and the Okanagan coLab building at 1405 St. Paul Street.
Both buildings suffered significant structural damage due to the planned four storey excavation at the UBCO site and both were shut down due to ongoing concerns.
Demolition permits were issued Aug. 15.
Officials with the legion say UBC Properties Trust recently completed a purchase of that property. The legion has also found a new home, however that information isn't expected to be made available until next week.
Kerkhoff Construction COO Chris Elkey says UBC Properties Trust has not purchased the Okanagan coLab building from them, but it appears the building will still be demolished.
Residents of a third building, Hadgraft Wilson Place, were forced to evacuate March 31 due to damage from construction.
Many of those residents have recently been forced to relocate again after temporary accommodations at Okanagan College ran out. They have also been offered up to $12,000 as temporary assistance.
The latest update in early July indicated shoring work has begun on the parkade and, while it’s still too early to say when the building can be occupied again, UBC is encouraged by the recent pace of progress.
Construction at the campus site has also resumed after plans for a four-storey underground parkade were scrapped in favour of a two-storey parkade.
A request for updates from UBC was not provided prior to publication.
Editor's note: a previous version of this story said UBC Properties Trust was believed to have purchased the Okanagan coLab building, but this is not the case.
