Capital Pointe hole not safe, experts say

The city inspector who ordered Regina's Capital Pointe hole be filled says the site is unsafe.

Jeremy Chalupiak, a City of Regina building inspector, made the statement during testimony before the Saskatchewan building and accessibility standards appeal board today.

The board will decide whether the city has the authority to fill in the excavation pit at the busy Regina intersection of Albert Street and Victoria Avenue.

Chalupiak took over the project file in April and ordered project developers Westgate Properties to backfill the hole the day after he took over.

He testified that he hasn't set foot on the site or made notes on the record, but he determined the site was unsafe through other inspectors' notes and by looking through the fence.

Chalupiak also noted that the developers no longer have a city building permit and can't continue the project at this time.

Stable but not safe

Ibrahim El-Baroudy from Pinter and Associates also spoke about the safety of the site. He was brought in to help decipher the engineering reports from firms EXP Engineering and KGS Group.

EXP did an analysis on the Capital Pointe site in June and concluded the site is "acceptable for a permanent structure."

But El-Baroudy says while the excavation site is currently stable, it can't be considered safe because that would give the wrong impression.

He says there is currently a low risk of failure at the site, but the excavation should be completed as soon as possible. Excessive movement at the site due to over excavation and moisture could contribute to future instability, El-Baroundy said.

The appeal board will make its decision within 30 days.

Westgate lawyer Neil Abbott says he knew the project was a major issue in the city, and felt they had received a fair and "extremely competent hearing."

"We view this as a legal case," Abbot said. "There are broader issues, we appreciate, but the city is the entity who issued the order to comply. We appealed that before the board and the board is going to make its decision and we respect that."

Site under construction since 2011

The lot at the corner of Victoria Avenue and Albert Street was originally planned to be home to Regina's tallest building. The project was slated to be completed by June 2015 but nothing has been built since the Plains Hotel was demolished in 2011.

The appeal hearing comes after the City of Regina ordered the company that owns the property — Westgate Properties and its affiliate, Fortress Real Developments — to fill the hole.

Westgate argues filling the hole would further delay the project and increase costs.

Capital Pointe timeline

• September 2010: First look at the 26-floor tower model with an expected June 2015 completion date.
• December 2011: Demolition of The Plains Hotel.
• Early 2012: Developer's original building permit expires.
• November 2012: Empty lot remains untouched as multiple factors delay groundbreaking.
• May 2013: Official groundbreaking ceremony.
• June 2014: Fortress Real Developments takes over project.
• November 2014: Second building permit expires.
• September 2015: Work begins on site.
• November 2016: Developers announce ground level completion of July 2017 with a 2018 overall completion date.
• May 2017: Developers say they expect to reach ground level construction in November and overall completion in spring 2019.
• November 2017: City says excavation needs to be started at the site by April 30 and developers must give engineers one month's notice of excavation or the site will be filled.
• November 2017: Temporary shoring completed.
• March 2018: Third building permit expires. Issued in September, significant work had to be done within six months to keep it.
• April 3, 2018: Developer misses one-month notice deadline for excavation so city issues an order for the site to be filled in by the end of the month.
• April 17, 2018: Developer appeals order.
• June 2018: EXP Engineering analysis concludes it is "acceptable for a permanent structure."
• July 2018: Saskatchewan Building and Accessibility Standards tribunal held.