Extensive renovations delay return home for residents displaced by devastating flood

Displaced tenants may be waiting upwards of a year for renovations estimated to cost millions before they are able to move back into an affordable housing complex following a devastating flood, the complex's executive director says.

Dozens of tenants were forced from their homes after a pipe burst at the Ottawa Salus building on Scott Street in early February.

"It's been a journey. I'll tell you I've never been through something like this before," said Mark MacAulay, executive director of Ottawa Salus.

"On the third floor, we had to do a complete gut and that's take everything right back to the studs," he said. "And the work on the other floors is quite a bit more extensive."

The building provides housing for dozens of residents with substance use or mental health issues, many of whom rely on the provincial government's Ontario Disability Support Program.

February's flood began on the fourth floor of the five-storey building after a fire sprinkler system burst and released nearly 20,000 litres of water within about half an hour.

Some lost all of their belongings.

Dominic Dulude-Daigle counts himself lucky. Many of the items in his third-floor unit were spared.

"I woke up and I was having coffee and the first thing I heard was the alarm," he said. "I went outside and there was water all around the place. It was pretty bad."

He spent a month in a hotel, but has since settled in another Salus building near Billings Bridge Shopping Centre. Of the 42 residents who were displaced, two are still living in hotels while the rest have found more permanent accommodations.

"It was my home. I've been there since the beginning of the building," he said. "It was shock to learn we have to move."

Renovations expected to cost millions

Even though the building was built in 2006, the flooding exposed a number of outdated problems — something MacAulay hopes the renovations will tackle.

Those renovations include removing the window air conditioners, replacing a brittle type of pipes and redoing electrical wiring throughout the building. He said they also hope to include upgraded insulation that better keeps out pests.

Yet, he said some of these upgrades aren't covered by insurance.

He anticipates the additional cost will be at least $2 million.

Donors and sponsors stepped up in the days and weeks following the flood, and MacAulay hopes they'll be willing to come through once again.

"[The] community has been phenomenal, phenomenal for support."