[5] It underwent a partial structural failure on June 23, 2012, when a 12m x 24m (39'-by-79') segment of the rooftop parking deck collapsed into the building, crashing through the upper level lottery kiosk adjacent to the food court and escalators to the ground floor below.

The city of Elliot Lake purchased the vacant former Algo Centre Mall site in 2019, as the first stage in redeveloping the land for new residential and commercial uses.

[8] Part of the site will be retained by the city as a municipal "community hub" project, while the rest of it will be sold back to residential and commercial developers.

[8] Algocen Realty Holdings Ltd., the real estate branch on the Algoma Central Railway, commissioned the Algo Centre Mall project.

Situated above Ontario Avenue and fronted by parking lots, this large building is clad mostly in brown prefinished metal siding.

The scale of the building, its introverted nature and the lack of tactile materials, detail, and transparency at the pedestrian level, do little to contribute to the urban environment.

The Mall and the Hotel are a terrific amenities and likely contribute greatly to the attraction of shoppers and visitors to the downtown core, but the design is less than sensitive to its urban environment.

[36] Architect John Clinckett of Kitchener was hired to oversee the project; Canadian Construction Controls of Breslau declined to bid to install a membrane created by Carlisle Syntec Systems.

"[42][43][44] At the 2013 inquest into the roof collapse (see #Government reaction below), testimony has revealed that many unpublicized structural problems at the mall dated all the way back to its initial construction in the late 1970s.

[45] In particular, the expansion joint above the escalators, the failure of which appears to have caused the roof deck collapse, was already not properly binding to the concrete, in turn allowing water to seep into the building's seams, as early as 1981—barely a year after the mall's original opening.

[46] The expansion joint was fixed many times, and fully replaced twice, during the building's lifetime, yet always began tearing away from the concrete again shortly after the repairs were complete.

In the early hours of Monday morning, June 25 – and despite discovering signs of life – rescue work was suspended due to the danger of additional concrete falling on the potential survivors and the HUSAR rescuers.

[55] After an appeal from local MPP Michael Mantha, whose constituency office was in the mall, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty urged rescue workers to resume their search for survivors.

[54] HUSAR later stated that the rescue teams were continuing to strategize alternate methods during the work suspension, and that the local residents and the Premier's call did not influence their actions.

During the bidding process, the owners were advised by a bidder, Precon, that the specified load could not be handled by the HCS without reinforcements from a composite concrete topping.

[45] James Keywan, the building's original architect, testified that he also strongly objected to the rooftop parking, but had little choice once Algocen made their decision to proceed with that plan.

[46] The NORR report speculated that a heavy vehicle might have contributed to a previously undetected partial failure of the support structure a few months prior to the final collapse.

[29] The East Algoma Community Futures Development Corporation approved interest free "transitional loans" of up to $25,000 for affected businesses.

[29] Mall owner Nazarian received death threats, which pushed him into hiding, and a class action lawsuit had already been launched by June 28, according to his lawyer.

"[4][71] Foodland leased the city's Collins Hall recreational facility for conversion into a temporary grocery store, which opened in October 2012.

[72] The public library branch and some government offices that had been located at the mall were temporarily relocated to the former White Mountain Academy of the Arts.

[52] The collapse focused attention on the Harper government's cancellation of the Joint Emergency Preparedness Program, which provides funds to Canada's five HUSAR teams.

[52] A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews deflected criticism of the cuts, noting that 90 per cent of emergencies are managed municipally or provincially.

[52] Global News reporter Jennifer Tryon attempted to file a Freedom of Information request for documents on June 29, but was refused; an employee came out from the back of the offices, and turned the City Clerk's chair around, so that they couldn't respond.

Documents found among the rubble by a private source said to be photocopies of clients drivers licences, social insurance numbers, health cards and birth certificates.

[89] According to the inquiry, Wood had previously indicated in conversation that he was aware that the roof was at risk of caving in, but altered his final report at Nazarian's request so that the structural issues did not jeopardize the building's refinancing.

[90][91] In June 2017, Justice Edward E. Gareau of the Ontario Superior Court found that there was not enough evidence to find Wood guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

[92] In explaining the verdict, the judge relied on the fact that other engineers had inspected the premises and also failed to accurately assess that the mall was structurally unsafe.

In other words, the actions do not elevate to a marked and substantial departure from what a reasonable engineer would do in the same circumstances.In closing, the judge stated that Wood must accept a moral responsibility for the events that unfolded on June 23, 2012.

He also levelled criticism at the officials of the City of Elliot Lake who did not exercise sufficient vigilance as well as Bob Nazarian, whom the judge called "a neglectful, greedy owner who minimized problems and put cost ahead of people in remedying deficiencies in the mall".