National Post ePaper

Bank Street building set for demolition after over a decade as an `eyesore'

ANDREW DUFFY aduffy@postmedia.com

The long derelict Bank Street building that once housed West Coast Video will be inspected for rats and other vermin before it's demolished.

Coun. Shawn Menard said exterminators were recently deployed to trap rats, mice and other animals inside and outside the two-storey building, which has drawn both ire and bewilderment in the neighbourhood during its 12 years of decrepitude.

“The big concern from neighbours was the rats: They've seen rats around the building,” said Menard, who has been working to solve the problem since taking office in 2018.

The building has also been home to countless birds and the occasional squatter.

The Capital Ward councillor says fencing is expected to go up in October with demolition slated to take place one month later. The property is then to be beautified with grass and stones.

Many Ottawa South residents could never understand why such a large and valuable property in the middle of their affluent neighbourhood was boarded up for so long.

“It just didn't make sense,” said Kerry Duffy, owner of the Life of Pie bakery directly across the street from the property.

Duffy said she's thrilled the derelict building will finally be knocked down. “It's not just us: Everybody I've spoken to thinks it's a great thing,” she said Tuesday. “It's a big eyesore. Whatever goes in there long-term will be a huge improvement.”

The two-storey brick building at 1123 and 1125 Bank St. once housed both a video store and a hair salon. It was heavily damaged in a latenight fire on Feb. 5, 2009, that closed both businesses.

That event triggered a provision in the city's bylaws that lowered municipal taxes on the building.

The provincial property tax rule was designed to ease the burden on commercial and industrial landlords who were without tenants for three months or more. In such cases, property taxes were discounted by 30 to 35 per cent in recognition of the owners' drop in revenue.

But the program proved to be a disincentive to redevelopment since some landlords were willing to pay reduced taxes and wait for

the value of their properties to rise.

In 2013, the City of Ottawa declared a “war on eyesores” and sought to turn up the pressure on the owners of derelict buildings. The Old Ottawa South property was one of those highlighted by the city in its campaign.

Menard said the situation was complicated by ownership dynamics inside Gorfay Realty, the company that owns the property.

“I think they were just not motivated to move it and were OK sitting on it with the tax incentives that existed,” Menard said.

The realty company did not return

email or phone messages left with the firm Tuesday.

Menard said he had discussed options with the property manager for several years and recently warned the costs of carrying the building were about to rise since the tax rebate program for landlords was coming to end.

“I let them know the costs were going to start increasing. And the bylaw complaints were not stopping: Every time there was graffiti to clean up, they were paying for it.”

Menard also sought to ease the building's path to destruction by bringing a motion to council that

eliminated some of the fees and red tape associated with a demolition. Council approved that motion in May.

Next year, city staff are expected to complete a review of bylaws that govern derelict buildings.

Menard believes previous reforms have not gone far enough and wants Ottawa to introduce a graduated system of fees — similar to what's in place in cities like Hamilton and Winnipeg — that would see landlords face larger penalties the longer they own derelict buildings.

City

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2021-09-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

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