Calgary community centre faces structural safety concerns

A recent investigation by The City of Calgary’s structural engineers has uncovered significant safety issues in the Willow Ridge Community Association building in the city’s southeast. 

An examination on Sept. 4 revealed that several key areas of the building, including the front entrance, Maple Hall, kitchen, and washrooms, do not meet current building codes.

The original building was built in 1970 and had a multi-million dollar renovation in 2019. It is near Acadia Park and the Maple Ridge School.

The Willow Ridge Community Association (WRCA) says no structural concerns were made aware amid the renovations at that time.

“Yeah, that’s disappointing. Not trying to think about it too much,” said Jason Carling, the president of the WRCA.

“We significantly expanded the footprint of the building. As you expand the footprint of the building, though, you’re focused on the new real estate, not the old real estate, so what effectively happened was we added a lot of square footage, but we left the original building as it was. Didn’t look at it.”

Calgary’s building inspector examined and mandated an immediate closure of the affected spaces last Wednesday to protect users.

The outdoor amenities such as the tennis courts, baseball diamond and basketball courts are still in use. However, dance classes and other activities hosted in this facility have stopped until the structural goals are met.

“Based off of what’s happened to other community associations with older buildings, we’re hoping it’s four months, but we don’t know until we look at the options,” Carling said.

The city is now working to address these safety concerns and to ensure compliance with modern standards, while the WRCA says it’s actively working on the remediation process.