A derelict building's facade crumbled 1.5 years ago in Hamilton. The city has yet to demolish it

Over a year and a half after the front facade of a Hamilton building crumbled onto the busy downtown street below, it sits vacant, derelict and close to collapsing, say city staff.

A tall metal fence surrounds the property on King Street East, comprised of three, three-storey buildings, blocking pedestrians from using the sidewalk, nearby crosswalk and lane of traffic.

Garbage accumulates in the area and police officers regularly respond to calls for assaults, shootings and weapons at the vacant site, staff reported to council's planning committee last week. 

Despite all of these issues dating back to August 2022, the city is only now moving to have it demolished, much to the frustration of the community, said Ward 3 Coun. Nrinder Nann.

It's a "blight" on the street, impacting local businesses and families trying to walk their kids to the nearby elementary school, she said. 

"Why did we wait so long to enforce compliance?" Nann said in an interview. "At what point do we value public safety as a paramount? It just does not make sense."

The ordeal began on Aug. 5, 2022 with a complaint from the Hamilton fire department and police service. A portion of brick masonry collapsed and wooden beams across the front of the buildings had deteriorated, among other issues.

That day, the city's building division ordered the property owner to address the safety issues, the recent staff report said. Tenants also had to vacate their six units, and were assisted by police and firefighters due to "structural safety concerns." 

The property owner did not comply, so the the building division had the front facade fully removed from all three buildings and installed temporary fencing to protect passersby from "the potential collapse of the buildings or falling debris," the report said. 

The property owner did not respond to a request for comment. 

Bob Nuttall, building inspections manager with the city, told CBC Hamilton that after the buildings were secured, the owner was required to decide what to with the property. 

"That inability to make forward progress in those decisions" resulted in the building division passing the file to municipal law enforcement in January, Nuttall said. 

Bylaw officers first tried to work with the property owner to gain compliance, said Dan Smith, acting director for municipal licensing and bylaw services, at the committee meeting last week. 

When that didn't work, bylaw issued multiple orders to the owner in May 2023 — about eight months after the facade collapsed. The owner appealed the orders, requesting more time to address the issues, which the property standards committee granted until Aug. 30, said the staff report.