Neighbours forced to evacuate due to heritage building at risk of collapse in Plateau

About 40 people in Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough were forced out of their homes Tuesday night because of a building next door at risk of collapsing.

The two buildings on de l'Esplanade Avenue share a wall. They were built in the early 1900s but have fallen into disrepair in recent decades.

Montreal's fire protection service ordered the evacuation as a precaution just after 8 p.m. Tuesday. They had already been at the site over the weekend to put upa new barricade in front of the building because a decayingwall hadcrumbled further.

Dan Walfish, one of the evacuees, said he hearda "loud noise" around suppertime Tuesday and walked outside to see what was going on.

"I saw that the building was falling apart, literally," he said. One of his neighbours called the policeand soon after, residents were told they would have to leave for the night.

Police arrested one man in his 70s who refused to leave his apartment, neighbours told CBCNews.

Walfish, who has lived next door to the buildings in question for six years, said he wasn't surprised by what happened.

He sympathizes with the owner, saying "it's been hard for him" and suggesting that the reason no action has been taken is due to the high cost of restoring heritage buildings.

Legal battle with city dates back decades

Concerns over the building's possible collapse date back many years.

In 2016, the property was encircled by metal fences for safety reasons and, in September of that year, CBC Montreal published a week-long series of investigative storiesthat detailed Montreal's extensive legal battleto save the heritage site.

In 1984, the city fined theowner for failing to maintain his buildingswhich, at the time, still had tenants.

• Quebec court orders demolition of historic Plateau greystone, repairs to its twin

In 1996, after continualcomplaints from neighbours, city inspectors declared the buildings unsafe, forcing the tenants to move out.

Interim borough mayor Alex Norrishas expressed concerns about the building's neglect in the past. He has said he wants the owner to take responsibility and make the necessary repairs.

This morning, Norris told CBChevisited the site last night when he heard about the situation.

"This is an extremely frustrating situation that has gone on far too long," he said.

In October, Quebec Superior Court justiceordered Guy Desrosiers, who's owned the heritage buildings at 4403-4423 de l'EsplanadeAve.since the late1970s, to demolish one of the three-storey buildingsand to restore and repair its twin.

• Quebec court orders demolition of historic Plateau greystone, repairs to its twin

DinuBumbaru, the policy director for Heritage Montreal, said that this latest development in the decades-long saga "could have been prevented."

"Buildings don't stand on their own naturally. You have to pay some attention to them," he said.

Building a 'safety hazard'

"It's a mess," said neighbour Mathieu Morin. He's lived down the street for about four years and he thinks the city should have done something already, calling it a "safety hazard."

It has been like a game of hot potato, Morin said, with authorities passing responsibility.

He'd like to see the building come down and replaced with one of asimilar style.

The two greystone buildings are located directly across from Jeanne-Mance Park, near the Mont-Royal Avenue intersection.

It is not clear when the residents will be allowed to return home.