The city of Vancouver has boarded up a historic Downtown Eastside building after the sprinkler pipes burst tonight.
A demolition order was halted just this afternoon for the Ming Sun Benevolent Society building on Powell Street. The city had planned to tear it down this week after declaring it structurally unsound.
Late Tuesday night, the City of Vancouver issued the following statement:
“Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services (VFRS) was called out to the Ming Sun Building at 437-441 Powell Street at 6:00 pm this evening after receiving a report that water was coming out of the building. Upon arrival, VFRS reported water flowing from the sprinkler pipes and six to eight inches of water on the main and second floors. The water valve was immediately shut off at the building to stop the flow of water.
City Building Inspectors determined that sprinkler pipes likely burst due to the cold weather; pipe joints were found to be coming apart in multiple locations. As the building has now moved further into a state of disrepair, and there continues to be evidence that the property owner has not adequately secured the building as ordered, the City ordered it be boarded up to prevent further access.
Community Police officers will stay on scene until City Engineers complete the board-up. City inspectors will return in the morning to assess the building.”
The building was home to the Ming Sun Benevolent Society, low-income housing and a artists’ collective.
Eight low-income tenants were forced to move out of the building after the city first declared it unsafe earlier this fall.
City engineers had said that the building was structurally unsound after the building next door was torn down this summer.
The building is 122 years old and part of Vancouver’s historic Japantown neighbourhood.
The demolition plans drew criticism from the society, artists and the neighbourhood.
After this latest development, the future of the building is even more uncertain.
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