Crumbling building still stands pending demolition

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This article was published 16/07/2024 (448 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A crumbling warehouse slated for demolition remains standing despite concerns it might collapse, as the City of Winnipeg and the property owners negotiate.

The city issued a demolition permit for the five-storey building at 579 McDermot Ave. last week, giving its owners until Monday to knock it down. The permit followed city orders to vacate the property, and a neighbouring multi-unit home, after an engineering assessment earlier this month confirmed the building was unsafe.

The demolition deadline has now been extended to Wednesday “to accommodate a request by the property owner’s contractor,” city spokesperson Kalen Qually said by email Tuesday.

The delay was unwelcome news for residents living near the property, who have been forced to evacuate until it’s safe to return.

“I’m in limbo, with nowhere to go,” said evacuee Brad Bannon, who was ordered to leave his suite at 573 McDermot on July 5.

“The fact that they keep delaying things and… not doing what they said they’d be doing, when they said they’d be doing them — that’s frustrating.”

‘Zero information’

The city provided Bannon with a 72-hour stay at a nearby hotel. When those accommodations expired and the warehouse was still standing, he was told he could reserve a space in a homeless shelter, he said.

“Yeah, no. Absolutely not,” Bannon said of the offer, adding his dog, Buddy — a mixed-breed Labrador retriever — would have to stay with the city’s animal services agency if he went to a shelter.

The evacuee described his stress level as “through the roof,” saying he has taken leave from work as he tries to sort out his accommodations.

Bannon is now staying at another hotel, courtesy of his landlord, but his money and patience are running out, he said.

“It was just the last straw for me. There’s no money coming in now, and I’m trying to figure out what to do, where to go,” he said. “I would like to find out who is at fault, and why aren’t they responsible for accommodating evacuees? Why is my landlord responsible for that?”

“I would like to find out who is at fault, and why aren’t they responsible for accommodating evacuees?”

Bannon’s landlord, who asked to withhold his name, said the four-suite property was fully occupied when the evacuation order came down. Two women and a family with multiple children were among the people forced to flee the home.

The women were each able to find shelter with relatives, while the family accessed support through Jordan’s Principle, which requires governments to cover the cost of services for First Nations children and work out any disputes over jurisdiction afterward, he said.

He has not been told when his tenants will be able to return, the landlord said.

“Residents affected should be provided with that information so they can plan accordingly,” he said. “We have zero information about how this (demolition) is going to happen or what is even going to happen.”

Neighbouring home demolished

The landlord said he believes the warehouse’s foundation might have been compromised after a neighbouring home was demolished, leaving a large hole that was not backfilled for several months as the property owner fought to obtain the proper permits.

He speculated rainfall and other weather conditions might have softened the ground beneath the warehouse before the hole was filled.

City records state the former home at 577 McDermot was ravaged by fire on March 6, 2021. The building was later sold to a new owner and demolished in August 2022.

The city approved a new building permit this October, but the property remains a vacant lot.

It is unclear whether it is owned by the same people who own the warehouse.

City permits show the warehouse, formerly home to the Western Paper Box Co. and Zenith Printing, was being converted into a 50-unit apartment block.

Large concrete blocks placed against the building’s eastern wall to support it have started to sink into the ground.

Bannon said he hopes demolition will begin Wednesday.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca