Part of Parc Avenue blocked off, apartments evacuated after building threatens to collapse

A portion of Parc Avenue has been blocked off as a building threatens to collapse. (Scott Prouse/CTV)

The Montreal fire department (SIM) was dispatched to an apartment building at risk of collapsing Friday evening in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough.

Two buildings nearby were evacuated for the tenants’ safety.

The SIM said it responded to a complaint from a resident who saw bricks falling off and had safety concerns. After inspecting the building with engineers, the fire department concluded there was an “imminent risk.”

The abandoned building is located at the corner of Parc Avenue and Van Horne Avenue, and has been a source of frustration for neighbouring landlords for months.

The SIM confirmed on Saturday that about 30 people were relocated. Some were taken in by the Red Cross while others stayed with friends or relatives.

Part of Parc Avenue remains blocked off due to the threat of collapse.

A wall at 5990 Parc Ave. crumbled on March 17, pushing a dozen tenants of a neighbouring building out of their homes.

Gordon Johnston, who manages the evacuated building, said he is at his wit’s end as he owns one of the two buildings that were evacuated Friday. He said he now lost all his tenants as his two properties are blocked off.

The tenants who were pushed out in March have yet to be able to retrieve their belongings and Johnston said they all broke their leases.

• READ MORE: Montreal tenants still not able to go home 3 weeks after neighbouring building wall collapsed

“The building’s been an imminent danger since 2023 and they’ve done nothing, nothing about it,” Johnston said.

“They know the building’s going to fall because it’s going to fall. And [the fire department] said ... [something] as simple as a heavy truck making a vibration on Parc Avenue could cause the building to crumble. They told me last night,” he added.

The borough authorized the demolition of the abandoned building in April 2024, CTV News confirmed after the wall fell. But it was never taken down.

The borough previously told CTV News that the permit has not been issued as the owner of the building has unpaid fines.

The borough said Saturday it has been “monitoring this issue closely for several months” and are in touch with the crumbling building’s two owners to “fulfill their obligations as soon as possible.”

“If they fail to do so, the borough may take the necessary legal measures to ensure public safety,” said Plateau spokesperson Francis Huot. “The demolition of the building, which should have been completed by its owner, will be carried out as soon as possible after obtaining a procedure approved by a structural engineer, based on the specific characteristics of the building’s condition and its connection to adjacent buildings.”

He added that the case is in litigation with the owner.

Johnston stressed he wants the city to use its powers to take over the demolition process and foot the owner the bill immediately.

“I’ve been calling them every single morning at 9 a.m. and speaking to an official at the permits department, and he basically tells me, ‘There’s nothing I can do,’” said Johnston.