Residents and businesses returning to Churchill Square after being forced out by storms

Fifteenmonths ago, a storm blew the roof off the biggest building in Churchill Square in St. John's, drenching and damaging homes and businesses, forcing some store owners to close their doors, at least temporarily.

But now people and businesses are returning, and the shopping and residential area has undergone a facelift.

• Water-damaged Churchill Square buildings could be closed for months

Susan Sharpe, the owner of By Sharpe Design, was on the phone with an employee last March when rain started falling in her store.

"Water just basically permeated through everything very quickly," she said. "We were forced to leave pretty quickly."

By Sharpe Design was finally able to reopen in May.

"We're back and happy to be," she said, adding that her store was in limbo for a while, before finding a temporary location for the interim.

LarryO'Keefe, general manager of Churchill Square Holdings, said he initially thoughtthat repairs to the building with 12 commercial spaces and 53 apartment units would be done in a matter of weeks, allowing tenants to return to their homes and shops quickly.

"But as we progressed, we found more and more problems, and it became apparent the building would haveto be completely rebuilt," he said.

There was asbestos in the building that had to be removed, along with old electrical wiring. The design and shape of the building made work challenging, said O'Keefe, but the building was stripped to the concrete and rebuilt, with new wiring, plumbing and sprinkler systems.

"We're very confident that the building will stand up," he said. "We've had a couple of beautiful, dandy storms since the roof incident, and we've weathered the storm."

Work should be done by the end of June, he said. About half of the businesses that had to vacate after the storm are returning, he estimates. Only about one-quarter of the residential tenants are coming back, he said, but he noted that many of the apartments had been occupied by students who were then seniors at Memorial University and have since graduated and moved on.

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