ManitobaAn outdoor area at the Bill and Helen Norrie Library has been fenced off and needs repairs just four years after it was built. City suing contractors behind the $9.3M construction of the Bill and Helen Norrie LibraryCameron MacLean · CBC News · Posted: Aug 12, 2025 2:53 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoThe City of Winnipeg fenced off the deck and patio area outside the Bill and Helen Norrie Library over concerns about heaving stones creating tripping hazards. (Donna Lee/CBC)An outdoor area of a new Winnipeg library has been fenced off and needs repairs just four years after it was built. The City of Winnipeg issued a tender for remediation work on the outdoor wood deck and paved patio areas at the Bill and Helen Norrie Library. Construction on the 14,000-square-foot building began in 2019 and cost $9.3 million.The library, which is the subject of a lawsuit by the city against three contractors involved in its construction, opened in 2021. According to the tender, the work will include removal and replacement of damaged wood floor joists, beams, and patio pavers. The contractor will also remove and rebuild the organic subgrade, replace the granular base beneath the deck and patio, and install new catch basins, drain pipes, and weeping tile. Coun. Evan Duncan, chair of the property and development committee, told CBC News in an interview that city staff and members of the public noted “significant deficiencies” on the eastern side of the building.He said there was significant heaving — referring to the upward movement of the ground or foundation typically caused by the expansion of soil — which shows there is an installation issue that needs to be addressed.Although the outdoor area has been closed off to the public, the library remains open.”Just to assure the public that the building itself is safe,” Duncan said.He did not know when the patio could reopen, or how much the repairs could cost.The city hired LM Architectural Group to design the building, Gateway Construction to build it and M. Block and Associates to provide geotechnical analysis to LM and the city. Last September, the city filed a statement of claim in Court of King’s Bench, seeking unspecified damages for alleged deficiencies in the construction of the library, naming the three companies as defendants. According to the statement of claim, the city became aware of concerns about the accessibility of the interior and exterior of the library in 2021. The concerns related to doors, accessible parking stalls, signage, and sight lines. The city says it raised its concerns with the contractor LM, which addressed some of the deficiencies, but failed to fix the majority of the problems.In 2022, the city discovered sump pumps were running excessively, causing a water to pool around the library, parking lot and street. “Upon review, the city determined that the geotechnical analysis failed to adequately consider seepage analysis, and that the drainage infrastructure designed for and constructed at the library was inadequate,” the lawsuit states.Then in 2022, the city discovered the deck was sloping and heaving.”As contract administrator, LM, failed to adequately inspect and supervise the deck construction by Gateway and ensure such construction was compliant with the approved structural drawings, failed to identify the defects in Gateway’s workmanship in relation to the deck construction, and did not take reasonable steps to identify and direct that Gateway remediate the defects,” the statement of claim says. The city says it now has to pay for repairs, temporary fixes and potential loss of use. CBC News has reached out to all three contractors but they were not immediately available for comment. No statements of defence have been filed.ABOUT THE AUTHORCameron MacLean is a journalist for CBC Manitoba living in Winnipeg, where he was born and raised. He has more than a decade of experience reporting in the city and across Manitoba, covering a wide range of topics, including courts, politics, housing, arts, health and breaking news. Email story tips to cameron.maclean@cbc.ca.
Repairs needed to deck, patio at Winnipeg library 4 years after construction
