Yellowknife's sinking visitors centre closes early after inspection

The Yellowknife visitors centre closed to the public Wednesday after an inspection found that most of the building is unsafe.

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The association that runs the centre originally plannedto shut it down May 15 because of major structural issues, butmore movement and stress on the building means only the entrance area is deemed a "safe zone" by inspectors.

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"This news was kind of all of a sudden," said Kyle Thomas, president of the visitors centre, who found out about the situation Tuesday.

"We're hoping that it's just a temporary hiccup," hesaid.

He hopes to reopen the centre Thursday afternoon so thatso it can providevisitors the absolute minimum services for the remaining days before May 15.

It's unclear what will happen after that.

"There is no permanent fix for the problems that have occurred," Thomas said.

"The best solution is another temporary location until such a time that a long-term solution is found, be it build a new building, be it continuing in another space. Right now, we're just trying to focus on the immediate future of how to stay open continuously without any interruption in visitor services."

Sinking centre

The centre, which opened in 1991, has been sinking and shifting into the small pond behind it for years.

For several months, a back section of the centre has been closed off because of safety concerns. Following this recent inspection, only the entrance area was deemed a 'safe zone.'

The city plans to meet with the visitors centre association in the coming days to find a temporary location. They have a few options in the downtown area.

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Mayor Mark Heyck hopes to get services up and running again in time for the start of the summer tourism season.

"We all need to focus our attention on what's going to happen in the near- to mid-term," he said. "Once we have some room to breathe then the longer-term solutions can be looked at."