40 people forced from homes after Montreal Plateau building partially collapses

About 40 people were forced out of their homes Tuesday night in Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, following the partial collapse of a residential building.

It is located on Esplanade Avenue, between Mont-Royal Avenue and Marie-Anne Street West.

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The Montreal Fire Department secured the structure and evacuated residents from the adjacent buildings after a passersby reported the incident.

The site is about 100 years old and has been the subject of legal disputes in the past.

The owner who bought the building has had issues with the borough since acquiring it in 1978.

Several complaints have been filed  by neighbours, according to borough spokesperson Michel Tanguay.

In 1996, borough officials deemed the three-storey building unsafe to live in. It has sat vacant for many years.

Tanguay said that in 2008, a fence was set up around the building for safety reasons.

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Both the city and the owner, Guy Desrosiers, want the building demolished.

In the fall of last year, Desrosiers was ordered by a Quebec Superior Court judge to demolish it, but he needs approval from the city to go ahead.

Because the structure was declared a heritage building in 2002, the city also requires the approval from the province before the demolition request can go through.

“Things can go extremely slowly for the general public. It would be good for the city to be more convincing and that means prevention and not reaction,” Heritage Montreal SpokesPerson Dinu Bumbaru said.

In the meantime, Desrosier is also responsible for the repair and restoration of the adjacent twin building. The grey stone facade on both buildings must be preserved.

— with files from The Canadian Press and Brayden Jagger Haines