City, ministry investigating fallen debris at Arts Court

By Veronica Newbury

The Arts Court redevelopment site is under investigation by the City of Ottawa and the Ministry of Labour after debris fell from a building under construction Sunday night.

The incident, which occurred at 10 p.m. on Sunday according to Ottawa Police, forced the temporary closure of Waller Street from Mackenzie King Bridge and Besserer Street, as well as Daly Street from Waller and Nicholas streets.

The streets were subsequently reopened two hours later.

In a media release, police stated: “falling debris from a highrise under construction … made the area unsafe.”

The city has not released additional information on the incident.

The highrise, a 23-storey structure that will house Ottawa’s first Le Germain Hotel and nine levels of condos by real-estate developer DevMcGill, will be located at 60-70 Waller Street above the Ottawa Art Gallery redevelopment.

The project is estimated to cost the city up to $100 million and is set to open by the end of 2017.