Tenants worry about condition of Sudbury mall

Some people at the Rainbow Centre Mall in Sudbury say they are concerned about the safety of the mall in light of recent flooding.

The downtown mall has a parking lot on the roof, similar to the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake that collapsed on Saturday, trapping people in the debris.

However, mall management in Sudbury said the construction of the two buildings is completely different.

Sylvia Carpenter is a store manager at the Rainbow Centre in Sudbury.

She said flooding has been an on-going problem at the mall for years and said there was a major flood in her store in April.

"As I walked in, I stepped in water … I just stood there and saw water everywhere. Like, all over the store," Carpenter said.

Since then, Carpenter said she's dealt with water coming through the ceiling at least two or three more times.

Other people in the mall have similar stories about water leaking through the ceiling and wonder if the water damage could compromise the mall’s structure.

Different construction

Joe Zito, the vice president of operations at the mall, said the Rainbow Centre and the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake are constructed differently.

"We don't have that type of construction or that type of risk here," Zito said. "The same thing couldn't happen here."

Zito added leaks are an on-going problem at his mall, but steps have been taken to fix the issues.

He added a building condition assessment was conducted last year — and $2.5 million was spent on repairs to the mall’s parking lot.

Carpenter said she hasn't dealt with flooding recently, but it's still something that's on her mind,

"I just happen to be lucky that they've gotten this part of the area fixed above me, but other parts of the mall, they're still getting water," she said.

Zito said about 99 per cent of the work to fix the leaks is complete.

"We apologize to the tenants for it," he said. "But we don't ignore it. We jump on it, we identify it and we do our best to resolve it."