Federal building in Whitehorse evacuated due to concerns over 'structural integrity'

A federal heritage building in Whitehorse, celebrated for its "good craftsmanship and materials," was evacuated on short notice last week due to "structural concerns."

That's displaced dozens of federal and Yukon government employees who workout of the building at 419Range Road. It's not known how long they'll be working elsewhere, but it's expected to be at least a few weeks.

"It was a complete surprise to us, and no doubt the other tenants," said Steve Gotch, director of operations for Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Whitehorse.

"We were notified immediately that the building was to be vacated," he said.

The columnated entrance to the distinctive white building is now blocked by fencing and sheets of black plastic. Signs urge "caution" and say the building is closed until further notice.

A spokesperson for Fisheries and Oceans stated in an email that construction work on the parking lot and front walkway "identifiedinconsistencies with ground stability around the front entranceway. A subsequent engineering assessment identified concerns with the structural integrity of the building."

The tenants were notified lastMonday and were moving outthe next day.

"Pretty quick turnaround," Gotch said.

Forty-two Fisheries and Oceans workers are normally based in the building, along with24 employees with Yukon's Department of Environment and some employees of the Yukon Water Board. The building is owned by the federal government.

Gotch says structural engineers aretaking a closer look at the building this week. That should determine what the problem is, and how long the building might beclosed. He's expecting to be out for at least several weeks.

Fisheries and Oceans has set up temporarily in the Elijah Smith building in the downtown. Yukon government workers have also been moved elsewhere, for now.

"If it happens that we're not able to return to 419Range Road by Dec. 1, then we'll be looking at longer-term accommodation arrangements, somewhere else in the city," Gotch said.

Heritage building

The building, also known as the Takhini Complex or Building 200,is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building.

It was built in 1951-52 by the Department of National Defence as the principalbarrack block at Camp Takhini, a former military base. It later served as headquarters for the maintenance and development of the Alaska Highway.

It's recognized asa heritage building because of its historic valueas well as its architecture.

It has "very good aesthetic qualities," according to Parks Canada's directory of federal heritage designations.

"Its smooth streamlined surfaces and long, clean composition are executed in a flattened, stylized manner. The result was a modern and sophisticated building for early 1950s Whitehorse," the online directory reads in part.

"The structure exhibits good craftsmanship and materials."

Gotch called the long-term evacuation a "very rare event" and unexpected, as the building was thought to be reliably solid.

"I've had the pleasure of working out of 419Range Road for nearly 20 years, and have experienced two earthquakes on site and found the building to be obviously quite well-built," he said.