THUNDER BAY – A vacant south end property that sat badly fire-damaged for nearly a year as its owner failed to comply with demolition orders finally came down on Saturday, clearing the way for potential redevelopment.
The City of Thunder Bay stepped in last year to arrange for the demolition of the former Oddfellows Hall on May Street, after a fire tore through the building in March. The city had ordered the hall closed in 2019.
On Saturday, crews began knocking down the structure using heavy equipment, a process the city’s licensing and enforcement manager, Doug Vincent, expected could take around 12 hours.
“I think a lot of people in town [were] wanting this down,” he said shortly before demolition began. “It’s been an eyesore in this south core for a long time, since the fire.”
“It’s going to make the place a lot more attractive, I think. The site will be graded and levelled, they’ll put in some control barriers for traffic. Who knows what the future will bring for that property?”
Saturday’s relatively mild weather made conditions ideal, Vincent said, but the job was complicated by the presence of asbestos and cramped working quarters – the contractor had taken several steps to shield neighbouring buildings from damage.
A section of May Street South between Donald and George streets is likely to stay closed for most of the coming week as workers remove debris from the site and backfill it.
The owner of the property, a numbered company based in Markham, Ontario, failed to comply last year with demolition orders issued under the city’s property standards by-law and the provincial Fire Protection and Prevention Act.
Charges were laid against the company earlier this year under the Provincial Offences Act for non-compliance, and for allegedly failing to keep the building secure from trespassers who started more fires.
The city will bill the owner for the cost of the demolition, although there is no guarantee it will be able to recoup all its expenses.
If necessary, a charge can be added to the property tax bill as a lien. In the event an owner defaults on taxes, a property may be seized and put up for sale to the highest qualified bidder.
