Plateau-Mont-Royal borough council to force demolition of St-Dominique St. building

The PlateauMont-Royalboroughcouncil is takinglegal stepsto force the owner of thebuilding at 3476 St-Dominique Streetto demolish it.

The move comes after a CBC investigative report on the state of the building that waspublished Wednesday.

• Part 1:On de l'Esplanade Ave., heritage greystones rot away
• Part 2:Extreme neglect: On St-Dominique St., neighbours angered by Montreal's inaction

The city put barricades around the building a few years ago due to concerns about falling debris

Project Montreal councillor Alex Norris wrote in an email to CBC that the council has authorized thecity's legal department totake "whatever legal proceedings are required, up to and including an injunction" to get the building torn down.

Norris told CBC that the PlateauMont-Royal borough councilwill "do whatever is necessary to demolish it in a way that respects the safety of the other buildings in the area."

Empty for at least a decade, it's covered in graffiti tags and is afrequent hangout for squatters.

Paul Stoica and his wife moved into their condominiumon St-Dominique in 2014.

Stoicahasseen the police visit a few times from his window, and at one point, there was a small fire.

The borough had actually given the the building's owner,DenisGuerrera, the green light to demolish the building back in the fall of 2014, calling it an "imminent safety risk." ButGuerreranever followed through with the demolition.

"We were under the impression it would be torn down fairly quickly," saidStoica.

"At this point, we've just lost hope."

Guerreranever returnedcalls from CBC News.

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