$3M judgment
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Building falls into harbour
Red suit, red chair ... and red face!
Century-old Brackman-Ker structure, now owned by Delta, topples over in Ladner BY
JESSICA KERR
jkerr@delta-optimist.com
A well-known Ladner landmark is gone after the Brackman-Ker building collapsed into Ladner Harbour early Monday morning. The building, which stood next to the Seven Seas fish plant on Chisholm Street, was constructed in 1892. Delta chief administrative officer George Harvie said municipal crews received calls about the collapse at around 5:30 a.m. Monday. “This was a full collapse... the roof actually imploded on the floating structure,” Harvie said. The collapse has been attributed to the state of decay of the building as well as the style of construction. “The pilings were in bad shape, but we expected that,” Harvie
said. “We also noted that there were structural deficiencies to the original design of the building and that’s to be no surprise considering that it’s over 100 years old.” Coun. Scott Hamilton, who chairs the Downtown Ladner Waterfront Redevelopment Advisory Committee, said a consultant told the committee the trusses were placed too far apart when the building was constructed. There were also “design deficiencies” in the trusses themselves. “All of these things obviously compiled and created our perfect storm,” he said. All that was left after the collapse was the façade of the building, which crews demolished and removed later in the day. The Corporation of Delta purSee COLLAPSE page 3
Carol ships sail into town
PHOTO BY
CHUNG CHOW
One-year-old Lucy O’Brien wasn’t convinced sitting on St. Nick’s knee was the place to be during Breakfast with Santa at South Delta Recreation Centre last Saturday. For more photos, see Page 19 and www.delta-optimist.com.
PHOTO BY
CHUNG CHOW
Ladner’s festive weekend included the arrival of the carol ships. For details and more photos, see Page 17 and www.delta-optimist.com.
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