St. John’s ‘eyesore’ to be demolished

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This article was published 28/02/2025 (190 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A vacant commercial building badly damaged by fire a few months ago will be torn down next week.

The owner of the property at 366 Church Ave. had been sent a remediation order, a city spokesperson said. The demolition is contracted out by the city, and the debris will be removed at a later date.

“When the city undertakes remediation, the costs are applied to the property owner’s property taxes,” a city spokesperson said.

Emergency crews were sent to the fire on Nov. 19. At the time, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said the structure was expected to be “a total loss.”

Before the fire, the city received 311 complaints about the site from a resident who deemed it a problematic “eyesore” that had sat largely vacant for years, attracting repeated break-ins and dumping.

The city is currently enforcing 692 properties under its vacant buildings bylaw, including 164 commercial and 528 residential structures.