A back portion of the Empire Hotel has collapsed, and now the city is looking at demolishing the old Simpson Street building.
The entire back wall as well as some of the inside of the abandoned hotel collapsed sometime Tuesday night. The former hotel had been vacant for years and was boarded up by the city three years ago to keep people out.
No one was in the building when it collapsed.
The privately owned building has also been the victim of numerous fires.
The city's licensing and enforcement manager Ron Bourret said he suspects the fires and seasonal weather changes were likely major factors in the collapse.
But he added that they still have to assess how the damaged portions affect the rest of the building.
Although the city will look at various options, Bourret believes that they will have to demolish it.
“We had engineer reports on it and the reports didn’t indicate in any way that it was immediately subject to collapse,” he said.
“I’m told in years past that this was the headquarters of the RCMP. There’s actually jail cells in the basement. It’s very structurally sound but that’s the basement. It’s unfortunate that it will have to go.”
He said the owner of the building owes several thousand dollars in taxes and will foot the bill for knocking it down.
