Sandwich Town residents hopeful as boarded up buildings come down

Some residents of Sandwich Town say they're happy to finally see the end of around a dozen boarded up houses in their neighbourhood that are owned by the same company that owns the Ambassador Bridge. 

The bridge corporation is tearing the buildings down after years of vacancy, during which neighbours have complained of unsightly caved-in roofs, pest infestations and repeated arsons. 

"We've been waiting a long time for this to happen and I'm just kind of shocked that it happened this quick," said Kevin Benoit, who lives on St. Antoine Street.

"We're talking about how long?  A very, very long time."

The Canadian Transit Company bought the homes to make way for a possible second international crossing next to the Ambassador Bridge.

However, the company said there is no plan to move forward with the project after the federal permit for it expired in 2022.

The company's vice president told CBC in an email that the company is now working collaboratively with city officials to bring secondary truck inspections to the bridge plaza.

"We are optimistic that we will be able to make an announcement of additional large investments soon," Ken Dobson said.

Resident would love to see new homes built

Asked why the company chose now as the time to tear down the buildings, Dobson said it could not do so until the city issued permits.

Benoit said he would've appreciated some warning about the demolitions so he could prepare for the noise.

He's also concerned it will be a slow process, and he's worried about what will become of the land when it's done.

But after living in the neighbourhood for around 20 years and watching the houses go from family homes to eyesores, he says he'd love to see new homes back on the properties. 

"That would be great," he said. 

"That would really make this neighborhood. This is a nice little quiet section of the west end, right?"

Edison Street resident Preston Gao said even vacant properties would be better than boarded up buildings.

Gao, who has lived in the area since 2017, said the neighbourhood is affordable, the neighbours are very kind, and he's not sure he'd want to live anywhere else. 

But he said the empty homes attracted unhoused people who camped on porches and tried to break in.

It also attracted numerous animals.

"The roofs are all in disrepair and falling in," he said. 

"So raccoons will make nests up there –  squirrels, plenty of skunks in the area."

There's also a feral cat colony in the neighbourhood, Gao said.

"I'm happy," he said of the demolition now underway. 

"[I'm] a little bit annoyed with the noise, but I'd put up with that just to get them out of the way."