Demolition of burned-out buildings held up by red tape, building owner says

The rubble of three burned-out buildings has been sitting in the Point Douglas area for months thanks to red tape one building owner says is holding up demolition.

Robert McDonald's Store at 843 Main Street was one of three that burned down in the area in February. Since the fire, he has been trying to tear it down.

"I want to see this building removed," McDonald said, calling it an eyesore. "So people can get on with their lives and not have to deal with this view every day."

The demolition is held up because of asbestos.

In a statement, the province of Manitoba says, "Enforcement officers consider the date of construction and any subsequent renovations when determining whether there are suspect materials in a structure."

It says it takes asbestos management very seriously, and a stop-work order was issued two weeks after the fire.

"It's really disheartening to see things burn down all the time, it's soul-destroying actually," Catherine Flynn, the interim chair of the Point Douglas Residents' Association, told CTV News. "When stuff like this happens, it's out of our hands."

McDonald's building is not the only one that went up in flames.

Weeks after the February fire another nearby building burned down, and on Tuesday a massive North Point Douglas structure caught fire.

The burned remains of all three are still standing, casting a dark shadow on the Point Douglas neighbourhood.

"We know why it's taking time," Flynn said. "But on the other hand, obviously, it's been up here for like almost six months. We'd like it gone."

McDonald said he doesn't know when the province came to test for asbestos, or if they went to the right building. He said he did 20 asbestos tests, and all came up negative.

Now he's on the hook for higher costs.

"Between a conventional (demolition) which is just come and take it down, and a wet (demolition) where they have to spray everything down, there's a difference of $200,000."

Flynn said she wants more done to prevent fires from happening in the first place.

"Honestly, it feels sometimes like there's almost fires weekly," she said. "I know it's not quite that frequent but that's how it feels."

On Wednesday, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham said city hall is making changes to reduce the number of burned buildings sitting for months.

"It doesn't matter where someone lives in the City of Winnipeg, you shouldn't have to look at that for weeks or months on end," Gillingham said Wednesday.

"We want to make the changes and we're trying to make the changes necessary to improve conditions in the area."

He said he's going to be taking a walking tour of the Point Douglas area with Flynn to see the problem first-hand.