The amount of restoration work required at a St. James Town building badly damaged by fire last summer has pushed the tentative return date even further, the property management says.

More than 1,500 displaced residents from 650 Parliament St. who are currently living in temporary spaces across the city will not be able to return home until at least late August — more than a year since a six-fire alarm broke out in the building’s electrical system.

“The situation is fluid and evolving,” said Danny Roth, spokesperson for Wellesley-Parliament Square (WPSQ), the property management for 650 Parliament and several other buildings in the area.

He said they believe the fire started in the south tower’s bus duct — the system that distributes hydro through the building’s common areas and south tower suites. The flames were mostly confined to the electrical closets, but too much pressure from the heat caused soot to migrate to other areas in the building through the mechanical chases.

A Star photographer was given a guided tour of the premises Friday. The electrical room in the basement where the fire is believed to have originated now has all new equipment and power is running into the central unit, but Roth said electrical work on the floors above must be completed before the system can be switched on to the apartments.

All the ceilings and walls have been painted over with white pigmented shellac, a special paint used to suppress the smell of smoke. Work continues to connect cables from the electrical room to each unit in the building.

Roth said contractors from Access Restoration Services Ltd. were hired to do the job, and they have been thoroughly cleaning soot residue, making masonry repairs, installing fire stops, replacing carpets, installing new ceiling framing and drywall and applying protective paint to walls, ceilings and trim.

The bulk of repairs, however, are to the building’s main electrical systems, which requires new electrical distribution panels and electrical closets on each floor of the south tower, he said, as well as the complete replacement of the electrical distribution system in the north tower.

Other repairs include rewiring of all CCTV and replacing fire suppression equipment and the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) duct system, as well as installing new life safety systems such as fire suppression, emergency lighting and exit signage.

Roth said physical repair work to the building has cost $20 million so far, and management has earmarked an additional $26 million for the remainder of the process, with the understanding contractors could discover more damage that drives the costs higher.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Roth said aside from repair costs, management has also spent more than $10 million on tenant assistance programs — costs directly related to helping residents that have been displaced since the fire on Aug. 21.

As of Friday, Roth said there are only a handful of tenants still housed in hotels. About 125 tenancies from 650 Parliament have secured temporary housing in some of the other buildings managed by WPSQ. Other tenants are either being temporarily housed in furnished units or living with relatives and friends across the city, he said. Some residents have broken off their leases and moved on, but Roth said he did not have the number.

The fire department has yet to release the official cause the fire. Late last month Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop told the Star the damage to the building’s electrical system was “absolutely the worst” he has seen in over 20 years.

Management had previously projected a possible return date in June, but Roth said they’re relying on advice from contractors who are running the restoration process and know the scope of work at hand, adding the date could be pushed again.

“The objective of the landlord is to reoccupy this building as quickly as possible and to go back to just being a landlord,” he said. “Believe me, if there was a way to expedite this any further, they’d seize on that.”