WestUrban Developments Ltd. is suing engineering firm Sorensen Trilogy in the BC Supreme Court over alleged structural deficiencies at apartment complexes in Nanaimo and Campbell River.

The Arbutus Apartments, located at 5085 Uplands Dr. in Nanaimo, is a 5-storey, 59-unit building. The Watermark Apartments, at 2036 South Island Hwy., Campbell River, boasts four storeys and 51 units.

WestUrban completed construction on both buildings in late 2019 and undertook structural upgrades on them between 2021 and 2022. WestUrban alleges the work was needed to remediate dangerous defects in the buildings’ foundations and structure and that Sorensen Trilogy is responsible for those defects. Sorensen Trilogy denies the allegations, and they have not been proven in court. 

At least three WestUrban developments are now known to have required structural work within a few years of construction. Besides the two at issue in this lawsuit, the Magdalena apartment building in North Cowichan, built in 2019, is in need of major structural remediation. In late July 2022, WestUrban notified all tenants of its intention to evict them in order to do that work. 

WestUrban has launched a separate lawsuit against a different company, Krahn Engineering, alleging its engineers are responsible for the structural issues at the Magdalena and the costs of repair. Krahn Engineering has not responded to those claims. 

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