Mayfair hotel gas line to be moved before demolition

Crews will relocate a gas line leading into Kitchener's historic Mayfair Hotel to prepare the building for demolition.

After a water main break on April 11, two sets ofengineers examined the hotel and discovered that the buildinghad serious structural problems, including a crack in the foundation a meter and a half long,in addition to water damage. The building was deemed to be extremely unstable and dangerous for anyone working on it.

Young Street, where the 110-year-oldMayfairis located, has been closed ever since,because engineerssay vibrations or severeweather could cause the building to collapse.

• Mayfair Hotel passed building inspection before 2013 sale, say Kitchener staff
• Kitchener council paves way for Mayfair hotel demolition

The crews working to relocate the gas line areoperating under the approval of a structural engineer to ensure thatvibrations are kept to a minimum, andavoid furtherdestabilizing the hotel.

The gasline is shared between the Mayfair and 156-158 King St. but enters the Mayfair first. Crews will be moving the line to enter the 158King St. property instead.

The hotel has sat vacant indowntown Kitchener for years. The city owned it for about 12years before itsold the Mayfairto developer Bernie Nimer in 2013. The citysaysthat at the time the building passed a structural inspection.

Nimer had planned to turn the Mayfair into a boutique hotel.