The demolition of a house in the North Central neighbourhood is being called a win for the community.
“I’m filled with so much emotion, you know, to see this house actually come down because it was a huge concern for the community,” said Shawna Oochoo, the president of White Pony Lodge, a local safety patrol group.
The abandoned home at 1454 Angus Street has been described as a magnet for trouble.
“We found over a hundred needles, or close to 140, the first time we actually searched the property. Because of its location on Dewdney and its central area across from the McDonald’s, it was being used a lot as kind of a squatting house,” Sherie McKay, White Pony Lodge’s patrol co-ordinator, said.
“The blot on the neighbourhood is carried in people’s minds, and they kind of look at a derelict building and just kind of brand the entire neighbourhood that way. That’s not who we are. North Central is a wonderful, caring neighbourhood, and we want to show how much we care by getting moments like this,” Jan Morier, a board member for White Pony Lodge, said, pointing to the destruction.
White Pony Lodge published a Facebook post in August, drawing attention to the building. A request for the demolition of the property was made under the community standards bylaw last fall and later approved by the city.
“Things have been moving very, very fast. I didn’t expect it to actually be demolished until, you know, maybe later in the spring,” Oochoo said.
“This is a residential community, so kids are running in these yards, children are playing in these yards, so the more that we get these houses addressed and taken down, the safer it is for our community.”
McKay said the demolition delivers a message to other landlords.
“It’s a message that we can’t keep having these squatting spots and that they’re unsafe,” McKay said.
Now that the house near Dewdney Avenue and Angus Street is out of the way, White Pony Lodge will move on to tackle other problem places in the neighbourhood.
“It really sends the message that if you work together, you can create change, and that’s exactly what North Central did,” Oochoo said.
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