HALIFAX — An apartment building in downtown Halifax that was under construction when a crane fell on it during post-tropical storm Dorian has been renamed after the disaster that made it famous.
Seymour Trihopoylos, one of the owners of the building that was to be called The Olympus, said today the building will instead be known as The Crane on South Park in recognition of the Sept. 7, 2019 collapse.
He says he, his father, mother, sister and brother-in-law — the owners of Olympus Property Management Inc. — have concluded the building would forever be remembered for what became a defining image of the fierce storm.
The 52-year-old developer said to attempt a different name would be futile, as it will "always be the building the crane collapsed on."
The residential tower's construction was delayed by more than a year after the crane from a construction site next door fell and damaged it.
However, units are now being listed for lease beginning May 1, at prices that range between $1,895 to $2,025 per month for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,595 to $2,845 for a two-bedroom apartment.
The developer says there were many sleepless nights as he and his family worked out the details of how to repair the damage after the crane's twisted remains were removed.
"The best part of the whole story is that there was no loss of life, and that the crane fell on a structure that was unoccupied, so there was no death or injury," he said.
"It hit our building and put us behind, but money and time will fix the building, whereas if we'd lost a single life, it would have been a disaster."
Initially, there was a state of emergency declared around the building for about two months after the crane collapse.
The provincial government said in November 2019 it would pay $2-million to clean up the collapsed crane and have the area reopened, with the former transportation minister saying the province planned to make efforts to recover the money.
A provincial report on the cause of the collapse is expected to be presented later this year.
In October 2019, a proposed class action lawsuit was launched to recover losses sustained by businesses and tenants against developers W.M. Fares Architects Inc., and W.M. Fares and Associates Inc., Lead Structural Formwork Ltd., of Moncton, N.B. — the owner, operator and installer of the crane — and Manitowoc Company Inc., the U.S.-based designer of the crane.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2021.
Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press
