Occupants of a condo situated in downtown Vancouver found themselves in a bit of a pickle when their building became flooded. The incident, which happened on Thursday night, caused water to flow down the stairwells. As a result, the elevators were rendered out of service.
The 49-story condo, dubbed Vancouver House, is a well-known structure. It’s primarily revered for its monumental top-heavy design, which has remained a quintessential part of the city’s skyline.
The tower, which reached its peak about two years ago, became flooded when one of the gaskets on the domestic water line experienced a malfunction.
The defective valve, which is positioned on the 29th floor, caused flooding to 17 of the units, not to mention, wrecked elevator control panels. This is what caused 3 of the high-rise elevators to become inoperable.
Thankfully, the building management team has already hired a contractor, who has been tasked with replacing all gaskets of the specific model that malfunctioned.
A spokesperson, who wrote an email on behalf of Westbank, revealed that Vancouver House is managed jointly by two entities, the strata council, and the council’s property manager.
Westbank is still the property manager in charge of the tower’s “residential podium”, and it contributes to the building’s management, although it does so to a small extent.
She also disclosed that all the units were being evaluated, which would then help the management figure out the next move. Specifically, they would know whether the residents would have to evacuate while the building was under repair.
Tirajeh Mazaheri, is a realtor who has put a couple of units in the Vancouver House on the market.
Following the incident, she said that she had come across a lot of critics online, questioning how Westbank runs its affairs.
She was quick to note the mishaps can happen to any developer. As such, it’s a homeowner’s responsibility to perform due diligence before deciding to purchase any property.
