Officials Stop Construction of Local 230-Apartment Complex

City officials halted construction on a large-scale project this week due to its failure to meet fire codes.

A 230-apartment project at the former Tryg's restaurant site, 3118 W. Lake St., does not feature adequate lumber to meet fire resistance parameters, according to the Southwest Journal.

“The code-required labeling of the lumber was suspect, so the City of Minneapolis along with the architect of record required the lumber to be tested,” said city spokesman Casper Hill, in the article. “ ... The contractor and design team … now needs to come up with a way to meet those specifications before this project can proceed.”

The Council and Minnesota Professional Firefighters held a news conference near the site on Monday. Later, the president of the Minnesota Professional Firefighters was quoted in a news release saying the lumber, “points to what may be an alarming cost-cutting trend in the construction industry.”

The project was originally expected to be completed by January 2017.

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