A petition is making the rounds to restore a boarded-up building in South Osborne.

Rubin Block is located at the corner of Morley Avenue and Osborne Street.

It’s been a fixture in the area since 1914, but has been sitting vacant since 2014.

“I think the structure is definitely ready for a change,” said Lindsay Nolin, manager of Bijou, which is across the street from Rubin Block.

The former apartment building and retail space has been empty since 2014, after a fire ripped through it. Two weeks ago, it was boarded-up.

Fort Garry-Riverview MLA James Allum is petitioning the owner to cooperate with the city to restore the building.

“What the community is asking here is for the owner to provide us with a plan as to when the boards will come down,” said Allum.

The building has a tragic past over the previous 11 years.

A fire forced many from the building in 2006, and in 2011, it was the scene of a murder.  In 2014, a second fire forced tenants out.

It’s an old structure, but it’s not designated as a heritage site.

“It’s even more urgent to appeal to the building owner to sell it and have somebody else redevelop,” said Cindy Tugwell, executive director of Heritage Winnipeg.

She said the longer a building sits vacant, the faster it deteriorates.

She believes Winnipeg can do more.

“If we can work with the city to work on those disincentives for vacant properties, and incentives to redevelop heritage properties, it’s a win-win for absolutely everyone,” said Tugwell.

Allum said the message from the community is simple: “Fix it, or sell it. And, we’re quite confident that there would be a lot of interest in buying it. It has great potential, and can be a great asset to this community.”

Nolin agrees. She’d like to see the building restored.

“I think that would affect us really well. We’d love to have a lot more foot traffic here in this area,” she said.

Allum said he’ll be sending his petition to the mayor and council. He’s asking the city to work with the building owner to expedite the process.

CTV News tried to contact the building owner, but were unable to reach them.