Osborne high-rise deemed uninhabitable after rooftop fire

Residents of an apartment building in the River-Osborne neighbourhood that caught fire more than one week ago are now searching for new places to live after the building was deemed unsafe to live in.

Residents of The Spot at East Village, which had its roof catch fire on Aug. 17, received a message saying the building is uninhabitable due to water damage to the building’s electrical system.

“Based on direction from relevant authorities, we are now required to restrict any access to the building until further notice,” the note reads.

Eli Wilde is among the 200 residents who were displaced.

“I was a little shocked, as I didn't realize it was that bad,” she said. “Because we still don’t even know the cause of the fire.”

In the days following the fire, residents were let into the building to get as much of their stuff out of their home as they could.

“Me and a buddy grabbed a bunch of duffel bags and hockey bags and suitcases, and in 20 minutes just grabbed whatever we could,” Wilde said.

“We pretty much just opened drawers and dumped things into backpacks. Obviously, no big furniture items could come with me. My dad's vintage record player is still sitting in there. So I would like to get that back.”

Right now, the vacancy rate in Winnipeg for apartments is 2.7 per cent, according to Rentals.ca.

Giacomo Ladas, director of communications with Rentals.ca, said five years ago, the vacancy rate was 5.1 per cent.

“What it means is that the supply and demand has widened even more,” he said. “So now, demand has never been higher than it is right now, and supply, percentage wise, has never been lower. So it's becoming increasingly more difficult to find a new place to rent.”

Ladas said adding another 200 people who have been displaced due to the fire will add further strain to the market.

“It has completely affected the landscape, especially when tragedies like this happen,” he said. “And we're seeing what's going on with the fires all across Canada. We’re seeing a mass exodus from people's homes. And that's what is putting further stress on the supply and demand issue.”

Wilde will be moving into a new place in November, but in the interim, is staying at an AirBnb.

“I’m feeling better now that I have like a lease signed, and I know that I will have like a new apartment to go to come November,” she said. “But before that, I was pretty stressed. I didn't know like, kind of where I was going to go. And then, just like the cost of accommodations, and all that, and finding a place that would let me bring my cats with me, was challenging at first.”

CTV News reached out to Private Pensions Partners Realty, the company that owns the building, but was told no one was available for an interview and the company has no comment at this time.