Developer alleges negligence by the City of Langford in latest chapter of the condemned Danbrook One tower

Centurion Apartment Properties Ltd. is seeking damages for “dangerous defects” from the municipality and several engineering and construction firms over the unsound structure in the 11-storey Danbrook One building (also known as RidgeView Place).

Centurion recently filed an amendment to its civil claim, saying the City of Langford was negligent in its approval of the building’s occupancy licence and sale to the property company. It also alleges the original owner, Loco Investments Inc., and designer DB Services of Victoria—both owned by Margaret McKay—had beneficial interests in selling the building.

Capital Daily has been reporting on the years-long controversy of the building’s structural issues, which forced the tower on Claude Road in Langford to be evacuated twice within four years.

Residents first moved into Danbrook One in March 2019, but behind the scenes, concerns around the building’s structural integrity were brought to the engineering firm Sorensen Trilogy in 2018, according to the original lawsuit filed by Centurion in 2021.

Another concern was brought to the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC (EGBC) in early 2019, with Langford notified of the complaint nearly a month after residents moved in. This is the main sticking point of the recent claim amendments, with Centurion arguing that the city misled the company into thinking it was purchasing a structurally sound building.

Ownership change

At that time, Centurion was just entering an agreement to purchase the building. Four months later, in August, Centurion became the official owner of Danbrook One.

Four months later, Langford received confirmation of structural concerns from EGBC and revoked the building’s occupancy license. Days before Christmas, residents were told to leave.

By May 2022, Centurion said it had completed $1M in remedial construction work, and the building began to slowly refill with new tenants. It also changed the name to RidgeView Place. At that time, two engineers from Sorensen Trilogy Engineering were accused of unprofessional conduct and incompetence, contributing to the building's flaws.

In April 2023, less than a year after the second round of tenants moved in, the building’s occupancy licence was revoked again. This time, EGBC said an external review of the building found the structural issues had not been fully resolved.

Residents not happy

Residents were shocked to find out their homes—with some of the building's 90 units costing nearly $3K a month to rent—were not safe. At a council meeting in May 2023, residents spoke of having to surrender their pets and take less-than-suitable housing options to have a roof over their heads. Langford provided five days of emergency housing, and Centurion provided $2,500 per unit, though tenants told Victoria’s city council it wasn’t enough to cover moving costs.