Hamilton to apply more scrutiny to deteriorating buildings following downtown collapse
Mayor: ‘I don’t see buildings falling [down] in every city around us’
As the fallout over fallen buildings in Gore Park continues, Hamilton officials will be turning their attention to other properties.
Mayor Andrea Horwath said the buildings that crumbled on Nov. 11 show "a complete failure of processes."
She moved a motion at the city's General Issues Committee on Wednesday, which directs staff to review the recent collapses, and to list other buildings across the city flagged for issues including safety concerns and bylaw enforcement.
The motion also calls on staff to review how those standards are being enforced, identify gaps and recommend policy changes within the first quarter of 2025.
"I don't see buildings falling [down] in every city around us. That doesn't seem to be the case, so there's something not right in the city of Hamilton, when it comes to how we address these kinds of situations," Horwath said.
"This city can and must do better."
The motion, which passed 16-0, will need to be confirmed at a city council meeting.
No prior signs of imminent collapse, owner says
The two vacant historic buildings that fell at 24 and 28 King St. E. showed "no signs of imminent collapse," said its owner, Hughson Business Space Corporation, and its managing partner, David Blanchard, following the incident.
City inspectors had flagged unsafe conditions at the vacant buildings for nearly two years and issued orders for the owners to repair the deteriorating roof, but that work was never done. As CBC Hamilton previously reported, the owners appealed the order, saying structural engineers advised the roof was too unsafe to work on.
Since the collapse, workers have begun demolishing the buildings, as well as the neighbouring structures.
Over the course of the Wednesday committee meeting, councillors asked city staff about the enforcement of property standards, and how the city protects the public from unsafe buildings.
Staff say reports deemed buildings unstable but not unsafe
Coun. Brad Clark (Ward 9) asked why the sidewalk in front of the buildings was never cordoned off. Director of building Rob Lalli responded that there was no requirement to do so under the Ontario Building Code.
"One would think that if there is a risk there, we would be protecting the public from the risk," he said.
Steve Robichaud, Hamilton's acting general manager of planning and economic development, told councillors that city reports did not indicate the buildings were unsafe and in need of removal prior to Nov. 11. Rather, he said, they called for their stabilization.
Robichaud pointed to another building in the city that officials ordered stabilized: 54 Hess St. S. In October 2023, an engineer found the house, built around 1850 and owned by Brown's Wharf Development, to be unsafe, according to an official notice posted on the property.
In addition to ordering the owner to fix it up, the city also ordered the closure of the sidewalk in front of the pre-Confederation stone building. That work was completed, but the city followed up with another order on June 21, requiring "specific remedial actions" to take place by Sept. 6, city spokesperson Lauren Vastano said in an email. That order remains open and the owner has made progress toward compliance, she said. She did not say if there were consequences for missing the deadline or if it had been extended.
The southernmost lane of Main Street W., was closed in front of the structure in October 2023, Vastano said. She said it will reopen when a professional engineer confirms the building repairs are complete. The owner will have to reimburse the city through a tax lien for costs incurred through the closures on the sidewalk and road.
Developer says working on heritage buildings is costly
Mario Frankovich spoke to CBC Hamilton on behalf of Brown's Wharf Development, a company directed by Steve Pocrnic and Darko Vranich, according to business records. The company has owned the Hess Street building since 2018, property records show.
Frankovich's view on what should be done with the property differs from the city's, which designated it a heritage building in January. The owners had argued against that designation and in favour of demolition, saying the site was deteriorating.
"Our intentions with the property are to go forward with development or redevelopment that can be sustainable for both tenants and ourselves," Frankovich said. He also works for hospitality and property management group Vrancor, which Vranich leads.
Generally, Frankovich said, redeveloping a property costs more than demolishing a building something from the ground up. That can also mean higher costs for future tenants, he said.
He said he'd like to see more "mechanisms for compromise" between different parties when it comes to managing older buildings.
The city billed the company a "surprisingly large amount," he said, for the lane and sidewalk closure.
The city did not respond to CBC Hamilton's inquiry on how much the charge was.
For decades, Hamilton has struggled to manage the "traffic jam" of competing interests for older buildings, Coun. Tom Jackson (Ward 6) told the committee on Wednesday.
Hamilton will soon have to decide the future of other historic but deteriorating buildings, he said, such as the Tivoli Theatre. Council has yet to decide that property's fate.
"At some point in time, we've got to get all players together around the table where there is a vacant, unused or abandoned building," he said.
"This issue isn't going away."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Blake Prendergast