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Owners lose 'Alphabet House' appeal

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"Alphabet House," built in 1891 at 89 Gertie Street, seen in an October 2009 file photo, is decorated with sign letters, some from the a former SAAN Store. (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)

WINNIPEG - The owners of an inner-city home have lost an appeal against a city order to fix it up or have it demolished.

Ed and Brandon Ackerman appealed an Oct. 13 city order to make extensive repairs to a home at 89 Gertie Street or fence it off and have it demolished.

City council’s property committee denied the appeal this morning at the conclusion of 75-minute public hearing.

The city will now enter into discussions with the duo about a time frame for making the repairs. The house, which the Ackermans call "Alphabet House," is not on the city’s heritage inventory.

The October order regarding the property described it as "structurally unsound," with major foundation issues, open excavations on the property, and missing windows, doors and stairs.  The building requires "urgent intervention" and "major rebuilding."

The Ackermans argued that they had been in the process of restoring the house for years, and that the house is also being used as a set for a film in progress.

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