City moves to demolish 'problem' building, with owner facing $100K tab

The owner of a now-derelict commercial building in southeast London could be facing a six-figure bill from the city for its demolition. 

City council's community and protective services committee (CAPS) approved a staff recommendation Monday to demolish the building at 1154 Hamilton Rd., which is near the intersection of Gore Road. 

In a report to the committee, staff said the building has been neglected "for several years" with its owners ignoring requests from bylaw officers to clean it up. 

The report says the former grocery store, bingo hall and buffet restaurant has been vacant for several years.  In 2021, it was added to the city's vacant building registry. The report said the building has had issues with break-ins, squatters, graffiti and in October was the site of a fire. 

Council approved a rezoning for the site in April of 2023 to allow up to 34 townhouse units on the site. However, there has been no movement toward demolition since that time and city staff said nuisance problems have continued. 

City property tax records list the owner as Lynphyl Homes (London) Limited.

A Facebook page lists a company in Hamilton by that name as an "interior design studio." An email sent to the address listed on the Facebook page no longer works. The only post on that Facebook page is from December of 2021 and shows the interior of a luxury residence. 

Messages sent to that page from CBC News received no response.

Coun. Hadleigh McAllister, whose ward includes the building, said he's been dealing with complaints from residents about the property. 

"It's unfortunately been a real problem property in the last few years," he said. 

McAllister said he's "trying to send a signal" to owners of other derelict properties to deal with the non-compliance issues or face the cost. 

"Please secure your sites," he said. "And use them for what we've asked them to be used for. We're in a housing crisis. I want to see these sites re-developed. Londoners are quite frankly fed up." 

Coun. Sam Trosow supported the demolition request, but wonders why it didn't happen sooner.

"In my view, these violations have sat there too long," he said. "This is not the first time derelict properties like this have come to the council table for demolition. It's a recurring problem." 

Orest Katolyk, who heads bylaw enforcement for the city, said staff follow a "progressive enforcement protocol" in dealing with vacant buildings that don't comply with the property standards bylaw. Bylaw officers have discretion to use warnings, court actions "and everything in between to bring a property into compliance." 

Katolyk said the city has issued just over $3,000 in "administrative monetary penalties" for the property and spent more than $7,000 to remove graffiti and clean up the site. Katolyk said those costs will be added to the property owner's city tax bill. The demolition costs, fines and inspection fees will also be added.

Katolyk said once the demolition is approved by city council, staff have to survey the site to identify any potential hazardous material. After that, a procurement process will start for the demolition. He estimated the entire process would take between three and six months. 

As for the final cost to the property owner including the demolition, Katolyk estimated it will be north of $100,000, which will become a lien on the property if the fees aren't paid.