Three years ago, Sault Ste. Marie's chief building official was so concerned about water soaking through every level of the old General Hospital building, he was afraid to enter the place.
Freddie Pozzebon testified under oath, before the city's property standards committee, that water was streaming in cracks throughout the entire structure.
"There's a serious concern about whether we should even access the building," Pozzebon said
"Unless the owner goes in there with a crew and cleans stuff up and brings it back to some level of safety, I have reservations about going into that building, or sending anybody into that building."
"Ceiling tiles were hanging down," he said.
"There was a lot of very hazardous building materials hanging."
"There were several areas, for whatever reason, where there was actually grass growing in some areas."
But it was water that was scaring Pozzebon.
"The building basement is full of water, which is one of the detrimental parts to the structural integrity," he said.
"The more moisture gets into steel columns and connections, the more susceptible they are to collapse."
That was 43 months ago, in May 2019.
Pozzebon slapped the old hospital's then-owner with an order to get a structural stability report from a professional engineer, assuring everyone that the six-storey riverfront edifice wasn't about to collapse.
The report was done by Randy Beltramin and Mark Coleman from Sault-based STEM Engineering Group Inc.
It was made public earlier this week by the property's current developer, Italo Ferrari, as part of a package of about 200 pages sent to the city just hours before Monday's council meeting.
Observations offered by the STEM engineers alleviated concerns that the building might be in danger of partial or full collapse, concluding that one metre of water in the basement seemed to be coming from the ground, not the rooftop.
They determined the basement water could safely be left in place.
Here's what the engineers said:
- glazing (windows, doors, and skylights) were broken from vandalism throughout the building. Many were also boarded up. lt was our understanding the boarding of windows has been an ongoing effort to address damaged glazing caused by the vandalism
- partial demolition of pipe chases, ceilings and walls to salvage building materials such as copper pipes and wiring has resulted in debris piled up throughout all floors of the building. Broken cast iron pipes, typically used as rainwater leaders in buildings of this age, were noted in some of the demolished vertical mechanical chases
- a leak was observed around the roof access hatch in the penthouse over the south wing
- above conditions have allowed rain and snow entering through the damaged openings and pipes, resulting in wet floors throughout all levels of the building
- structural framing was fully exposed in the three rooftop penthouses. All steel framing and metal roof decks were in good condition with negligible corrosion present
- building finishes covered a majority of the structural framing throughout the remainder of the hospital. The structure was therefore only visible where finishes were removed by the partial demolition
- the suspended acoustic ceiling on the top floor of the south wing was mostly removed to salvage wiring, exposing the roof structure above. The framing was performing as intended with deterioration or corrosion visible
- all other areas where the structure was exposed (i.e. removed ceilings, walls and pipe chases) revealed no evidence of duress, deformation or corrosion in the visible steel components
- all floors were solid, flat, and with no visible signs of sagging, cracking, or excessive deflection
- steel columns and beams were exposed in several locations in the basement, but were covered with sprayed-on fireproofing. The fireproofing was intact and dry, indicating the steel below had not been affected by corrosion
- the remaining intact wall and ceiling finishes, which accounted for a majority of the building, had no noticeable signs of duress from the damage/movement of the underlying steel structure (i.e. cracking, warping, buckling, or bulging)
- the basement floor slab was flat with no cracks or heaves caused by frost action, indicating that area was either not affected by freezing conditions or remained warm enough during winter conditions to prevent frost development in the soil below
- the boiler room was located in a deeper basement in the south wing. lt was flooded during our initial site visits, but dewatered prior to our last visit and accessed for review. Though we could not confirm where the water originated, it was our opinion that groundwater likely seeped into the basement once power to the sump pumps was deactivated. There was no staining on the walls from water flowing down through the upper basement door openings. However, water staining on the walls did indicate the water level having never exceeded roughly one metre deep, which would correlate closely with the groundwater table in the area.
- drywall finishes around the columns had fallen off below the flood line exposing the steel columns. Surface corrosion was visible but no rust flaking or pitting had developed indicating there was no appreciable loss of steel section. There was also no damage from ice pressure on the perimeter concrete basement walls
- the exterior brickwork was reviewed from the roof and ground levels. The walls were plane and intact with no signs of bulging/buckling, indicating the brick ties were performing as intended. No major cracks were visible in the masonry veneer indicating the building's lateral bracing systems and foundations were also functioning properly
- the exposed exterior top of concrete foundations did not have any significant cracks caused by settlement or deterioration, further confirming the foundations were functioning properly
- at the time of inspection the building structure did not exhibit signs of duress or appreciable deterioration from exposure to wet and freezing conditions
- the current program of boarding up damaged windows should be continued to minimize water penetration into the building
- damaged skylights should be closed up
- damaged roof drain leaders should be repaired or redirected to the exterior (i.e. replumb the roof drain with plastic piping out through a top floor window)
- the basement should be allowed to flood, with water depths stabilizing at the ground water level. Since there is no permanent power in the building, dewatering would be periodic, exposing the steel to cycles of water and air, accelerating the corrosion process
- Should redevelopment of the building not be scheduled for the upcoming year, annual inspections by a structural engineer should be completed lo monitor the performance of the building structure and exterior envelope on an ongoing basis
That final stipulation led to an interesting exchange this week between Ferrari and Ward 2 Coun. Luke Dufour.
Dufour noted that the engineering report submitted by Ferrari had been completed in February 2020 and asked about the reports for 2021 and 2022.
"There's one already done and we'll do another one now," Ferrari said.
When Dufour started to ask further about the missing reports, Ferrari interrupted and said, "I will send it to you."
"You do have it?" Dufour pressed.
"I don't have it here, no," Ferrari told him.
The developer said the hospital basement is being allowed to flood but the water is currently being briefly drained once a year.
City building inspectors were expected to visit the building on Friday.
Mayor Shoemaker told SooToday that city staff are now closely reviewing the documents submitted this week by Ferrari to "ensure he is meeting all his obligations regarding the safety of the building and the requirement to maintain insurance pursuant to our bylaw.”