Costly flooding dispute at brand-new office tower goes to BC Supreme Court
A chic new office building in downtown Vancouver has been plagued with flooding issues since before its completion, and the developer and construction contractor have taken their dispute to the BC Supreme Court.
The case centres on the 31-storey Bosa Waterfront Centre at 320 Granville Street. The strata-ownership office tower across from Waterfront Station opened in 2023, and its “undulating curves” won it recognition as one of the world’s best skyscrapers completed last year.
But as the building’s design got nods of approval, the companies involved in building it fell deeper into a disagreement over liability surrounding two costly flooding events in 2022 and 2023. The dispute got so serious that the companies turned to the BC Supreme Court.
Bosa Development Corporation is the general contractor for the 320 Granville project, Granco Holdings Ltd. is the landowner, and Enersolv Design and Build Ltd. is the mechanical engineering firm. All three are united against mechanical contractor Faria Mechanical Ltd.
They allege Faria’s breach of contract and negligence led to two flooding incidents at the downtown building where cooling towers overflowed and toilets backed up.
Faria, meanwhile, is after the three other companies to pay the remaining $520,000 for work it performed.
Bosa argues it shouldn’t have to pay due to Faria’s alleged negligence.
However, Faria argues the damages from the flooding incidents cost the other firms less than the $520,000 being held back. It’s also filed a counterclaim against Enersolv over the mechanical drawings it used for construction.
Faria asked the BC Supreme Court to determine it fulfilled its duties and is entitled to the remainder of the $520,000 after flood damages are subtracted. It wanted the matter decided on separately in a procedure involving only written statements instead of a full trial.
The other three companies, however, argued the matter should be settled when larger issues with the construction project proceed to trial in October 2025.
Faria first entered a contract with Bosa in 2019 for construction services totalling $14 million; however, the relationship became complicated when the building flooded twice in three months.
Toilet backups and cooling overflow cost Bosa hundreds of thousands
The first flood occurred on November 8, 2022. The cooling towers located on the 29th and 30th floors began overflowing due to drainage issues. Bosa alleges Faria failed to do its job properly when constructing the drains. Faria, on the other hand, argues it wasn’t negligent and followed drawings from Enersolv.
Next, in January 2023, the toilets on the 29th and 30th floors backed up and flooded the bathrooms. After investigation, it was found that paper towels were blocking the pipes and a larger drain was plugged with concrete slurry near a loading bay.
The judge noted the total alleged damage from both flooding events is in the neighbourhood of the payment amount Bosa is holding back from Faria. The judge ultimately sided with Bosa, the landowner, and the engineering firm to send the matter to a full trial next year, adding that the issue of paying the $520,000 hangs on important context needed about the project, and can’t be decided on separately.
The larger dispute involves issues of liability in the original $14 million contract from 2019, and the judge decided the issues needed to be heard together. The disagreement is scheduled to proceed to trial next year.
Daily Hive Urbanized has reached out to Bosa Development and Faria Mechanical for comment. The allegations have not been proven in court.