Calgary’s municipal building opened to the public on Monday morning, but third floor services are still dispersed.
After an overnight arson at Calgary City Hall caused extensive damage and closures to services, Calgary’s municipal building opened on the morning of August 8 with the exception of the third floor.
In a statement sent to LiveWire Calgary, the City of Calgary said there was significant progress made over the weekend.
“We were able to reopen the building to the public this morning, though our counter services on the third floor continue to operate from the temporary locations at the Central Library and Whitehorn Multi-Services Centre,” said the City of Calgary.
On Aug. 2, at around 4 a.m., Calgary Police Service responded to reports of a man with a large edged-weapon, and starting fires in the main municipal building.
Sprinkler systems caused water damage to the third floor of City Hall. Water damage extended to the main floor.
“We expect to have a cost estimate later in the week,” read the email from the City of Calgary.
The suspected arsonist is known to CPS as a Police and Crisis Team client.
“The Police investigation is still active, and we will not be commenting on the individual or the investigation at this point,” said the City of Calgary.
The arrest is also under review by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) for use of force by the Calgary police.
Two weeks before service return: City
Cashier services, tax advisory services and fair entry counters will be able to return to the municipal building in two weeks, the city said.
However, the planning and developments counter will take a bit longer to re-open at the building.
“The Planning and Development Services counter will likely remain at the Whitehorn Multi-Services Centre for a bit longer than that, as the damage to that area was more substantial,” said the City of Calgary.
The city’s planning and development counter will be at the Whitehorn Multi-Services Centre at 3705 35 Street NE. Hours of operations will be between 8 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.
The City said that these services will continue to be offered online through calgarytransit.com and calgary.ca.