Community rallies around displaced residents after south Calgary apartment flood – Calgary Herald

‘Right now, in the world that we’re all living in, a little extra kindness goes a long way’
The south Calgary community of Legacy is banding together after a flood tragically displaced hundreds of people just weeks before Christmas.
A sprinkler line ruptured the 1000-building at the Legacy Gate condominium complex at 81 Legacy Blvd. S.E. on Dec. 8, sending water pouring down through light fixtures and over balconies and forcing more than 200 people out of their homes.
Leslie Horley, who rented one of the affected units with her son and five-year-old granddaughter, managed to find a new rental in a neighbouring building just days after the flood.
“We got really lucky,” Horley said. “The gentleman who was renting the place said that after we had gone and taken a look at it, he had a dozen calls from people from the 1000-building.”
But the move was not without its complications, especially at Christmastime.
“This is certainly not something you want to have to go through and definitely not at this time of year. A lot of people are hurting and it’s very sad,” she said.
Horley said she’s been told it could be upwards of six months before people are allowed to return to their homes. But in the meantime, community members have stepped up to help each other out. Her neighbours, likely the same ones vying to get into the home she managed to rent, were the ones who helped her family make the move across the parking lot.
“Everybody needs help and everybody’s willing to give it, which is really nice,” Horley said.
That goodwill extends beyond just the affected residents.
Legacy pub Bobby’s Place offered a free holiday-style turkey dinner Monday night to residents whose homes were devastated by the flood. The pub’s owners hoped the dinner would be a nice reprieve for the residents, who had an incredibly busy few weeks leading up to the holidays.
“We didn’t even have to think about it. It was just the right thing to do,” said Lynn Cullen, who co-owns the restaurant alongside her husband Michael.
“It’s a great little community we live in … Right now, in the world that we’re all living in, a little extra kindness goes a long way.”
Within the Cullens’ gesture are several other Legacy residents who donated their time to help make the gathering special for families who have had a rough holiday season thus far. A community Santa and local musician also attended the event.
Project Warmth, a local charity that typically provides warm clothing and blankets to people experiencing homelessness in Calgary, is also stepping in to help displaced residents as water-damaged bedding, clothes and other belongings had to be tossed after the flood.
McLeod Law, the law firm representing property management group Diversified Management Southern, could not immediately be reached for comment. Previously, the firm said about 100 of the 200 units in one of the three buildings on site were impacted by extensive water damage, and engineers were working to determine if similar issues were present in the other two buildings.
Shortly after the incident, one of the lawyers estimated that the repair costs could reach in to the millions of dollars.
mrodriguez@postmedia.com
Twitter:     @michaelrdrguez
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