The demolition of a fire-damaged heritage hotel in downtown Vancouver was delayed by several hours on Wednesday, but those behind the project still hope to finish it on time.
The four-story mixed-use building was deemed unsafe after a fire swept through residential units on its upper floors last week, displacing scores of low-income residents from the Winters Hotel.
The old brick building in Vancouver’s Gastown neighborhood was operating as a single-room occupancy hotel before the fire, which broke out on one of the residential floors.
Since then, it’s been a challenging week and a half for those who called 203 Abbott St home. Speaking to CTV News outside the building on Wednesday, some said they felt distraught over being robbed of their homes and personal belongings.
Some were so desperate to access those belongings Wednesday morning that they broke through the barricade and entered the hotel before being ejected by police.
The site was blocked off by fencing and signs as crews prepared to tear down the building, a process initially scheduled to begin early Wednesday.
Disruptions from former residents, some of whom crossed the barriers and climbed to upper floors in an attempt to gain entry, temporarily halted work on the site.
Demolition did not start in the morning as planned and was further delayed when WorkSafeBC refused to approve the city’s demolition plan, officials said Wednesday afternoon.
Despite this setback, the City of Vancouver still hopes to meet the project’s original schedule.
A city representative said he expected WorkSafeBC to issue its approval Wednesday night and demolition to begin at 7 a.m. Thursday.
The goal, he said, is to finish the demolition and reopen the roads by Friday night.
Former resident Brendy Mingo shed tears from the other side of those fences before the demolition work, demanding to collect her belongings. Her efforts were quickly stopped by police who said it was too dangerous for anyone to enter.
“All I had left were those containers. All I had left were my photos and memories, right? Now I’m going to lose it in a fire, but not even in a fire because my stuff doesn’t burn,” she said. , adding that he lives on the first residential floor, where the damage was minimal.
“We just have to watch our stuff here get torn to pieces and thrown in the trash. It’s not right. It’s not fair,” he continued.
Mingo wasn’t the only one who felt powerless. Many of his neighbors also tried to gain access to the building, but were defeated.
“It’s terrible. I was hoping we could come here and make a change and hopefully keep it from being torn down and everyone could get what they could, but they won’t let us,” said Alex Sayers, another former resident. .
In a statement to CTV News, the City of Vancouver confirmed that “the building is not safe for anyone before the demolition process begins.”
“The city will be meeting with each ground floor business at 203 Abbott to discuss how the demolition contractor may attempt to recover items from their units, such as safes, during or after demolition,” the statement read.
“Given the unstable condition of the building and the significant damage to all floors from the fire, the City cannot attempt to collect the personal possessions of residential tenants on the upper floors.”
Last Monday’s devastating fire destroyed much of the heritage building, causing irreparable damage, sending five people to hospital and displacing dozens of residents.
The fire started on the second floor of the building, but the cause is still unknown.
Reference-bc.ctvnews.ca