Two days before Christmas, people hauled┬аtheir belongings out the doors of a central Edmonton apartment building, piling┬аup suitcases and laundry baskets full of clothes and shoes on the slushy sidewalk.
Building residents say they got the news Friday that they would have to leave тАФ exactly two weeks after 20-year-old Harshandeep Singh was shot and killed while working as a┬аsecurity guard in the┬аapartment building at┬а10603 107th ┬аAvenue.
Citing “serious safety concerns,” the City of Edmonton┬аshut the building down on Monday through an emergency order. It forces┬аmore than 60 people living in the building, including about 25 children, to relocate.
“Given the timing, this is not a decision that was taken lightly,” a city statement says.
Multiple residents said they were given 45 minutes┬аto pack up what they could┬аwhile two Edmonton transit buses waited along the curb for people to load their things on board.
Janet Heathen and her mom Danette┬аFiringstoney┬аwere emotional as they packed up a taxi taking them to a hotel.
“I don’t feel safe now, because where are we going to go after the hotel?” Heathen said.
“We have no more home. We have nothing.”
In a video statement, City of Edmonton community standards branch manager David Jones said safety issues in the building have escalated after two recent shootings. He said living conditions have also worsened over the past month.
“The building poses an imminent risk to residents, those visiting the building and the public in the immediate area,” he said.
Since the Dec. 6 shooting that killed Singh,┬аJones said the city has received “concerning information” indicating safety and security have not improved.
Further details weren’t provided about what that information is.┬аTwo people have been charged with first-degree murder in the security guard’s death.
Karisa┬аHalkett┬аsaid she’s lived in the building for nearly a year. On Monday, she was outside with her kitten, Scratch, nestled into her jacket.
“My place was always a safe spot for me, where I could lay my head. But after [the shooting], I started, I don’t know, having second thoughts,” she said.
City officials say they’re moving residents into temporary housing and working with partner agencies to find them new, permanent homes.
The CBC’s Emily Fitzpatrick reports on how the City of Edmonton is moving people out of a Central McDougall apartment building because of what it calls ongoing safety concerns.
A Canadian Red Cross spokesperson said in a statement Monday that they are assisting two households from the building┬аwith accommodation and food. Five households┬аreceived┬аrelocation help from Homeward Trust housing workers throughout December, according to a┬аspokesperson for the organization.
Both agencies are continuing to work with the city to address displaced residents’ needs.
City carries out emergency order
The city is shutting down the apartment building under a section of the Municipal Government Act that authorizes, in an emergency, “whatever actions or measures are necessary to eliminate the emergency.”
While the city is carrying out the emergency order, the decision comes from a team that includes Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, the Edmonton Police Service, Alberta Health Services, and provincial and city officials.
The city says it has had┬аan open investigation on the property.
“Significant efforts have been made to incentivize and compel building management to address concerns and incremental progress was being made,” the statement says.
Despite 60 inspections at the property over the last five years, according to the city, “25 citations have been issued in relation to the property and numerous serious issues remain unresolved.”
Ongoing issues include neglect of maintenance and active pest infestations.
The building is the subject of nine publicly listed Alberta Health Services orders that date back to April 2023.
Three┬аseparate units were ordered vacated this past March, with public health inspectors citing issues like refrigerators that weren’t in working order, a hole in a bathtub repaired with putty and a missing lock and doorknob on the front door of one unit.
In one case, on March 11, inspectors found the unit’s heating system didn’t work, and the tenant reported it hadn’t been operational since January.
Other work orders describe further maintenance problems and cockroach infestations throughout the building.
Jessica Mandrusiak┬аsaid she moved into the building in April, and she’s been dealing with issues from cockroaches┬аto broken┬аheating.
“There’s definitely been some times where we’ve felt unsafe,” she said. “I was actually the one that let the guard in when that stuff happened that night.”
The move is abrupt, she said, but,┬а“we’ve been wanting to get out for a while so it’s kind of a blessing in disguise, I guess.”
Kolten Comeau┬аsaid was only in the building for about a month, while his mother has lived there longer.
But many of the residents are close, and he hopes there’s a way to stay in touch.
“It’s a shame, actually, that everyone has to leave in the same day.”
The building will be boarded up, according to city officials. The closure applies only to the residential portion of the building, and not the businesses on the ground floor.
