A Halifax apartment building that went viral in 2019 after a construction crane fell on it was renamed before it opened.
Seymour Trihopoylos, co-owner of the building with Olympus Properties, says the building was now called the Crane.
“I think it’s funny,” he says, adding that the name fits because the building is known for it.
“It was big news of the day around the world during Hurricane Dorian, so it fit.”
The crane collapsed in the South Park Street building on September 7, 2019, in high winds as Dorian moved inland.
An overturned building crane is hung over a new construction project after Hurricane Dorian swept through the area in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Sunday, September 8, 2019.
(Andrew Vaughan / The Canadian Press via AP)
The province declared the building a state of emergency for almost two months after the crane collapsed.
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“Essentially, it restricted access to the property for more than two months,” says Trihopoylos.
Then the developers have to work through the winter months, which further delayed construction.
“It was very difficult to work in these conditions, especially on 13 floors in the air where most of the damage is confined to the top three floors of the building.”
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However, according to Trihopoylos, this was the best scenario.
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“The very happy thing about it was that nobody got hurt. It could have been a lot worse, ”he says.
“I said back then, when the crane fell, the best thing that could have happened is that it fell on our building to avoid human loss.”
Although plans to complete the building were delayed by more than a year, Trihopoylos and his family, the owners of the property, are proud of how it turned out.
“We believe we put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this project.”
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Soon people will be able to move into the crane – the building, not the machine – with units listed for May 1st.
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The 61-unit building includes one- and two-bedroom apartments with monthly rental rates between $ 1,895 and $ 2,845 – higher than the average Halifax rental.
According to Trihopoylos, the response to the name change has been positive so far.
“My son called me a few hours ago and said, ‘Dad, we’re all over social media.'”
“A lot of people like the name we chose for the building,” he says.
“Some people think it’s funny, of course, and we think it puts a smile on people’s faces.
“It’s bad news that has turned into good news.”
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The provincial government announced in November 2019 that it would pay $ 2 million to clean up the collapsed crane and reopen the area. The former transport minister said the province was planning to make efforts to recover the money.
A provincial report on the cause of the collapse is expected later this year.
In October 2019, a class action lawsuit was filed to recover losses from businesses and tenants against developers WM Fares Architects Inc. and WM Fares and Associates Inc., Lead Structural Formwork Ltd. from Moncton, NB. Operator and installer of the crane – and Manitowoc Company Inc., the US-based designer of the crane.
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–With files from The Canadian Press
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
