Controversial Calgary housing project evacuated after smells from raw sewage seep into apartments

Tenants of a controversial yet award-winning, affordable housing project in Calgary's Rosedale neighbourhood have been forced out after smells from raw sewage  made their homes unlivable.

The modular home, which was brought in by crane nearly two years ago, was first occupied last summer.

The duplex won the Mayor's Urban Design Award for housing innovation but sits empty now while the city-owned Calgary Housing Company figures out what went wrong.

Officially, the CHC says there's a break in the sewer line, which was detected by someone who peeked underneath the modular home's crawl space.

"At the end of July, a leak at the sewer service connection was discovered in the sealed crawl space under a CHC-managed duplex residence in Rosedale, after a resident complained of sewage odour," the CHC said in an emailed statement.

The city says the family living in the main floor apartment was put up in a hotel until another CHC apartment was found for them.

Claudia Weis, who lives in the second floor suite, has been away on vacation but has been told she will have to move out when she gets back to Calgary. 

"I've gone through a lot of stress and emotions about it," Weis said from B.C.

"I don't know what to say, it's horrible." 

Weis, 47, says she told Calgary Housing about a "rotten egg, sewage smell" on several occasions since she moved in last summer.

She says she has experienced headaches and fatigue since last November, when she started working from home, but she's not sure if there's a connection between her symptoms and the sewage leak. She also says she experienced dizziness in April and called Calgary Housing to suggest there might be a gas leak.

The city confirmed the fire department was called to the duplex on April 2 after receiving a call from Calgary Housing regarding an odour inside the house.

"After an investigation, fire [crews] could not find any abnormal readings or odours," said a city spokesperson.

An interview with Calgary Housing was scheduled for late last week; however, it was cancelled and CBC News was told Greg Wilkes, the manager of housing, was no longer available.

Coun. Druh Farrell, who represents the neighbourhood and is chair of the board of the Calgary Housing Company, was not available.

Jeromy Farkas, the other councillor who sits on the CHC board, declined a CBC interview request. 

Controversial project

Some residents in the affluent northwest neighbourhood spoke out against the project when it was first proposed in 2015. They said it would depress property values, create parking, noise and garbage problems and open the door for other affordable housing projects in their community of 1,600 people.

Some also expressed concern about the "class of people" who might move in next to their "million-dollar homes."

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This is an entirely different problem that presumably no one saw coming. 

The president of the Rosedale Community Association was unaware of the sewage leak when contacted by CBC News. 

Angela Kokott said it's an unfortunate situation for the residents.

The now empty duplex was one of eight that were built on the south side of the sound wall along 16th Avenue N.W. from 4A Street to Ninth Street.  The skinny lots — less than half the size of a standard lot — had been left vacant since the widening of the Trans-Canada Highway more than a decade ago.

The modular homes were built in the Edmonton-area, trucked to Calgary, lowered into place by crane and finished on-site starting in late 2019. 

Each unit cost approximately $250,000. The $4-million cost for all 16 units was covered by all three levels of government. The City of Calgary owns the homes, which are managed by CHC.

Other homes to be inspected

The city says the other seven duplexes will be checked to determine if there are other sewage leaks.

The cause of the leak is now under investigation and it's unclear how long it will take to fix — or how much it will cost.

"The investigation to determine the root cause is ongoing and it is not clear at this time how long the investigation or repairs will take," the city said in its statement.

"Visual inspections have been conducted on other similar units, and formal inspections have been scheduled to confirm there are no issues with the other units in Rosedale."

The contract was a fixed price, design-build agreement. The builder, Calgary-based Sherger Construction Ltd., did not respond to requests for comment.

In a video posted online in November 2020, the company's president said the homes were originally planned to be a traditional wood frame, "stick" construction build. However, Chad Sherger said the decision was made to switch to modular homes mid-way through the project.

The homes are for low- and middle-income earners and their families. They have one to three bedrooms and some can accommodate people with mobility challenges.

Hoping to move back in

Weis is making her way back to Calgary and will spend a few nights in a hotel before she is moved into another Calgary Housing apartment, potentially in another modular home in the community that she has grown to love.

The school teacher says she feels bad that this has happened after some people in Rosedale pushed back against the project.

"I knew that the community was a little against having this housing … the neighbours are your friends, and I feel horrible for them because they live right there," she said.

Bryan Labby is an enterprise reporter with CBC Calgary. If you have a good story idea or tip, you can reach him at bryan.labby@cbc.ca or on Twitter at @CBCBryan.