By Sumayya
The partial breakdown (collapse) of a downtown Ottawa parking garage in the winter of 2025 was caused by “excessive snow loading” on the building, according to an independent investigation.
A part of the top floor of the parking garage fell down on Feb. 26, 2025. This sent large pieces of concrete, heavy piles of snow, and other broken items falling down three levels to the ground floor.
Approximately 50 vehicles were stuck inside the parking garage for weeks.
A company named GWLRA owns this parking structure on Slater Street.
In an official statement, GWLRA explained that an independent study found the collapse happened because of “excessive snow loading, meaning the weight of accumulated cleared snow exceeded the structure’s design loads.”
“The investigation concluded that the collapse was not related to the garage’s design, construction, maintenance or repairs.”
GWLRA stated that the review was done by an independent company that has “global technical and engineering expertise.” This expert team looked over “historical condition assessments, inspection reports, repair records and weather data, and conducted on-site examinations.”
Officials from the City of Ottawa had also said before that the big snowbanks piled on the top floor of the parkade were “without a doubt” a reason for the accident.
The owner company now plans to start working to rebuild the broken parts of the parking garage. They will add safety upgrades to the building before it opens up again for cars.
“GWLRA is moving forward with plans to rebuild portions of the 265 Laurier parking garage, with safety guiding every stage of the project,” GWLRA said in its statement.
“The entire structure has undergone a comprehensive assessment by independent engineering firms, and GWLRA will obtain the necessary occupancy permits and approvals from the City of Ottawa before reopening. As part of construction, GWLRA is accelerating planned maintenance and upgrades to refresh the overall structure and extend its lifecycle.”
In March, a spokesperson for the company stated that engineering plans were being worked on before the official construction work could begin.
