Robillard ruin must go: Plante
Historic theatre destroyed in fire still needs to be demolished and site cleaned
The Ville-Marie borough is “considering” taking over the demolition of a historic theatre on StLaurent Blvd. that was damaged by a fire in November.
An “empty, awful, contaminated space” is how opposition party Projet Montréal leader Valerie Plante describes the site on which the now-incinerated Robillard building once stood.
Although asbestos was found in its ruined walls, the destroyed building still stands at the corner of St-Laurent Blvd. and Viger St.
Plante is criticizing the VilleMarie borough administration for lack of leadership and disregard of the city’s architectural heritage buildings. Denis Coderre, Montreal’s mayor, is also the mayor of Ville-Marie. Plante is a city councillor for Sainte-Marie district, which is in the borough of VilleMarie.
On Wednesday, a statement from the city on behalf of VilleMarie said the borough “has used and continues to use all the levers available to it” regarding the Robillard building. The borough issued a total of $11,606 in fines to the building’s owner after the building was not demolished following an order to do so, according to the press release.
“This work was still the responsibility of the owner,” the statement read.
But Plante argues Coderre’s administration could have used a different method; a provincial law in the Municipal Code of Quebec that gives a municipality the power to demolish a dangerous site through the Superior Court, then send the bill to the owner of the building.
“They decided to ... (send) fines to the owner,” Plante told the Montreal Gazette. “This is where I find that the mayor doesn’t see it as a priority.”
However, the city argued it did not resort to the provincial law straight away to avoid wasting public money.
“A sound management of the City of Montreal requires that before undertaking costly legal proceedings for Montrealers, the city begins by calling on the landowner to assume responsibility,” said city spokesperson Marie-Ève Courchesne in a message.
Plante said she thinks the demolition should have been done before summer, when Ville-Marie is replete with festivals and events, like the Formula E race this weekend — especially when the site poses a public health risk due to asbestos.
“I know people in Chinatown are not happy about it,” Plante said, adding she is concerned about tourists walking nearby.
The Robillard building was abandoned, but was once home to Canada’s first cinema in 1896. At the time of the fire on Nov. 17, the official opposition released a statement calling on the city to do more to protect abandoned heritage buildings. The statement added the Robillard was the fifth one to be damaged in 2016.
“Enough with the in-between solutions: Let’s just get rid of it, let’s clean it and send the bill (to the owner) after,” Plante said.
But the borough has made progress on the Robillard file, according to the statement. Work to remove asbestos has begun, and the risk of the adjoining walls collapsing was eliminated, the press release said.
However the owner has stopped payment to the demolition company, which stopped work on the site in early July.
The borough is “considering carrying out the remaining work and claiming the amount of the invoice from the owner,” according to the statement.
It also mandated occupational health and safety firm Groupe Gesfor Poirier Pinchin Inc. to create an asbestos report of the site.