Demolition by Neglect

A massive fire this morning at the red brick 1888 heritage building at Yonge & Gould in downtown Toronto is a major disappointment. After water, gas, and electricity had been cut from the property, and after the owners had asked and then denied to demolish the building, one wonders if foul play is involved.

The beautiful old building fell under "demolition by neglect". As part of the neglect, a part of a wall fell down in April 2010 that has caused hoarding to go up losing a car lane on Yonge and causing major pedestrian disruption along Yonge Street and Gould Street, a major entrance to Ryerson University. The owners of the heritage building, the Lalani Group should be terribly ashamed.

The Ontario Heritage Act was created to avoid these situations, and the city and province should uphold the law and make the owners pay for this. It is not acceptable.