New start
Gutted Charlottetown apartment to be renovated
A boarded-up Charlottetown building gutted by an arsonist more than two years ago is finally getting attention.
A Chinese businessman purchased the building on the corner of Prince Street and Grafton Street last year from Joseph Mourad.
Work is now underway to clean up the property.
Charlottetown Coun. Greg Rivard says the proposed project – a four-unit apartment on the second and third floors and commercial property on the first floor – will go before the heritage board next week.
With the green light, he says work can begin in four to six weeks.
“It’s one of those buildings that even though it was not designated as heritage property, it had heritage value,’’ says Rivard.
“To see it stay in the state that it was in was unfortunate.’’
He adds the new owner is “trying to restore this (former) house to what it once was.’’
Bill Zhang of Future Space Decoration Inc. estimates renovations will take three to four months.
Dennis Joseph O’Brien was sentenced in February 2016 to serve almost four years in prison after pleading guilty to setting fire to the city apartment building that had nine people sleeping in it.
Some of the residents were treated for smoke inhalation and burns. Three people were taken to hospital.
Charlottetown Police Services Const. Mike McGee received the Governor General’s medal for bravery for rushing into the burning building to help save a female resident.
The fire also destroyed Rose’s Barber Shop.