Third construction-related lawsuit added to Leaf pile

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This article was published 08/07/2021 (1265 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As Assiniboine Park Conservancy celebrates the opening of its outdoor Diversity Gardens, the indoor component of the Leaf project remains mired in legal woes.

The Leaf is the subject of three lawsuits tied to the construction of its indoor facility, the most recent filed last week by Supreme Steel LP.

Supreme Steel was subcontracted by Bird Construction Group in 2018 for steel fabrication and construction work on the project. It alleges it is still owed $821,978.

“Despite numerous requests and demands (Bird Construction) has failed and/or refused to pay the outstanding balance,” alleges the statement of claim.

Last month, Assiniboine Park Conservancy sued the architects and engineering firm helming the project, alleging design defects have delayed its opening and sent costs skyrocketing.

Design defects in the 92,000-square-foot facility’s translucent roof resulted in the suspension of construction in June 2019, with remedial work not undertaken until Aug. 31, 2020, the conservancy alleges in a statement of claim.

The lawsuit alleges defendants Architecture 49 Inc., KPMB Architects, and engineering firm Blackwell Bowick Partnership Ltd. all recommended the “conceptual spiral cable-net roof design” and assured Assiniboine Park they had completed “an exhaustive determination of the viability” of the project.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants provided Assiniboine Park with deficient project drawings and geometry controls, defects in the cable net structure and failed to conduct necessary testing.

In a separate, related lawsuit, the conservancy is suing its insurer, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company, alleging it wrongly rejected Assiniboine’s claim for compensation related to the roof defects.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca