Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 22, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B1 travelmanitoba. com/ events Soak up the fun at our SUMMER FESTIVALS! Icelandic Festival of Manitoba, July 31 - Aug 3 Watching Apple / B6 CITY & BUSINESS CITY EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204- 697- 7292 I CITY. DESK@ FREEPRESS. MB. CA I WINNIPEGFREEPRESS. COM WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2015 B 1 I NVESTORS Group Field was designed as a warm- weather football stadium that wouldn't house outdoor concerts, its architect claims in response to a lawsuit over problems with the twoyear- old CFL facility. In a statement of defence against a claim filed by Triple B Stadium, architect Ray Wan denies responsibility for dozens of alleged design and construction deficiencies at the venue - and blames the owner for cracked concrete slabs throughout its concourses. Triple B, a shell company representing the city, province, University of Manitoba and Winnipeg Football Club, owns Winnipeg's $ 209- million, 33,500- seat football stadium. In a statement of claim filed in March, the corporation alleges Wan and construction company Stuart Olson are responsible for 42 " operational and design defects" that include slopes that drain water into the building, the absence of winterization and concrete slabs so weak they are " a problem for moving kegs of beer." Stuart Olson fired back in May, alleging in a statement of defence Triple B Stadium and the Selinger government rushed Investors Group Field to completion and " knowingly approved a design without regard for the problems" at the Canadian Football League facility. Stuart Olson also filed a cross- claim against Wan, who did not respond to requests for comment at the time. In a statement of defence and crossclaim filed in June, Wan rejects most of Triple B's allegations and asks for the lawsuit to be dismissed, with costs. The architect claims he designed the stadium under an agreement reached with original stadium builder Creswin Properties and later assigned to the shell company. Triple B took over " without any revisions to the original design for a two-/ three- season facility," the statement of claim alleges. " The plaintiff asked for a two-/ three- season facility, not a fourseason facility, to be constructed." Wan also rejects responsibility for cuts into the stadium concrete and staircases that had to be installed well after construction started in order to allow concertgoers access to the field. " Field- level seating became an issue when the plaintiff chose to explore the use of Investors Group Field for outdoor concerts, which was not contemplated in the original design," reads the statement of the defence. These claims corroborate statements made to the Free Press by former Triple B chairman Phil Sheegl, who disclosed stadium- design issues in 2013. Wan also suggests Triple B is responsible for cracked concrete at the stadium, which he describes as " restricted to the topping or wearing slab only and not the structural slab." He alleges the cracked concrete slabs - which are being replaced over the course of a year at an expected cost of tens of millions of dollars - " is indicative of drying, shrinkage and restrained cracking that occurred during the curing process and is largely a construction- sequencing issue." Wan also claims Triple B failed to submit a list of concession vendors and their loading requirements during the stadium's design and construction process. Triple B then " ignored the loading requirements and made modifications not contemplated in the design," Wan alleges, " specifically with respect to the location and number of concessions, which has resulted in wear and tear on the surface level of the concrete flooring." Wan claims Triple B agreed to only use handoperated pallet jacks on the concourse but wound up using heavier, electric- powered jacks. Wan also alleges Triple B made " numerous changes to selection of materials during the course of construction," and states delays in 2010 contributed to what the building's owner calls a " poor co- ordination of building services" in its statement of claim. Wan alleges Stuart Olson is responsible for some of the water damage at the stadium, due to what the architect describes as the " improper application and installation of the flooring assembly" and the builder's " failure to properly seal the penetration." bartley. kives@ freepress. mb. ca Stadium architect fires back Says facility not meant for winter use or hosting concerts By Bartley Kives . MARCH 2015: Investors Group Field owner Triple B Stadium - a shell company representing the city, province, Winnipeg Football Club and University of Manitoba - files a statement of claim against construction company Stuart Olson and architect Ray Wan, citing 42 " operational and functional defects" at the $ 209- million, 33,500- seat facility, which opened in 2013. . APRIL 2015: In a statement of defence and cross- claim, Stuart Olson denies or refutes most of Triple B's claims. The builder alleges Triple B and the Selinger government rushed Investors Group Field to completion and " knowingly approved a design without regard for the problems" at the CFL stadium. . JUNE 2015: In a statement of defence and cross- claim of his own, Wan denies or refutes most of Triple B's allegations, blames the owner for the cracked concrete and places the blame for water damage on Stuart Olson. I T'S amazing what one can learn by taking the time to simply stop and ask. I was driving through Wolseley earlier this week - on Arlington Street just south of Portage Avenue - when I reflexively glanced over at the place where my father was born. Of course, the place wasn't there anymore. Over time, and several stages and decades of demolition, the Old Grace Hospital site has been reduced to what it is today. An empty field of weeds. Or at least the last time I'd driven by it was empty. On this day, though, the weeds had been joined by two hard hats and the workers wearing them, along with what looked like a pair of plywood boxes with colourful, childlike drawings on the side. Plus a pile of gravel. So I pulled over, parked and walked over to ask the workers what was going on. They told me they were building a birdhouse. Maybe the biggest birdhouse Manitoba has ever seen. They told me more - that the wooden birdhouse was supposed to look like a chimney and take the place of the old hospital's towering smokestack, which had been where a threatened species of birds returned to breed each spring. Chimney swifts, as they are commonly called. But I decided the best source of answers is the expert on this subject, the person most responsible for a project that's more complicated than it appears. So I phoned Nicole Firlotte. Or, as I like to call her, the Bird Woman of Wolseley. " Yeah, I can tell you the story," she said. She said she has lived in the neighbourhood for about 10 years, and when she first saw the small, soot- coloured birds swooping over her house, she not only knew they were chimney swifts, she was aware they are a threatened species. And not because she Googled them. Because she happens to be the provincial wildlife branch's manager of biodiversity, habitat and endangered species. Nicole knew something else important, too. That what remained of the Old Grace Hospital, including a 30- metre brick chimney the chimney swifts called home, was coming down. So she reached out to the provincial government departments in charge of the demolition and the planned construction of 1,000 low- income housing units on the property. And she introduced herself, said where she worked, and spoke of the significance of the big chimney to birds whose numbers have declined nationwide by a third in the last dozen or so years. " So we need to be involved," she recalls telling them. And that's what Nicole and her department did. They got involved. " Originally, we had hoped through the project that they were going to maintain the masonry chimney. That the big chimney was going to stay on the site. Which was very exciting, because it was great habitat for the birds." But that didn't happen because of concerns the big smokestack might fall on its own and land on nearby houses. " So it was decided the stack would be removed, and we worked out a plan to mitigate for the loss of that habitat." And that's how they decided on the 12- metre- high faux chimney. But only as a temporary attempt at luring the birds back. " Before Manitoba Housing redevelops the site, there's going to be a couple of years where there won't be anything on the site," Nicole explained. " And so the temporary chimney that you saw will serve in the interim." The details are still being worked out, Nicole said, but ultimately, the plan is to incorporate a series of faux chimney birdhouses into the housingproject design. Students at Laura Secord School have added their artwork to the new chimney and interpretive signage about the project will be going up on site after it's up and in place. Hopefully, Nicole said, that will be before the end of the week. " It's very exciting." Not only for the Bird Woman of Wolseley, but for a neighbourhood that prides itself on being environmentally aware, protective and sensitive. Which reminds me: did I mention the little chimney swift spends the daylight hours hunting and eating 1,000 insects a day? Including one of its favourite meals: the Wolseley mosquito. gordon. sinclair@ freepress. mb. ca Fake chimney aids endangered species Project strictly for the birds GORDON SINCLAIR JR. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Nicole Firlotte with some temporary chimneys to be erected at the site of the Old Grace Hospital on Arlington Street. CROSSTOWN CIVIC CREDIT UNION www. crosstowncivic. mb. ca * Rates subject to change without notice. CAN YOU PICTURE YOURSELF IN PARIS? 1.80 % ON TAX FREE SAVINGS ACCOUNTS WE CAN! B_ 01_ Jul- 22- 15_ FP_ 01. indd B1 7/ 21/ 15 9: 02: 31 PM ;