The demolition of the dilapidated Dunsmuir Hotel in Vancouver has sparked a debate about the city's lack of knowledge regarding its vacant buildings and potential public safety risks.
A B.C. urban planning analyst says the controversy over the dilapidated Dunsmuir Hotel in Vancouver exposes the fact the city doesn't know exactly how many vacant buildings it has or whether they're also a danger to the public. Vancouver city council ordered the demolition of the former Dunsmuir Hotel earlier in December, after an inspection had found it had deteriorated to the point of becoming a safety hazard.
The city blamed the owner, Holborn Properties, for neglecting the structure for more than a decade. Holborn has denied the accusation and suggested red tape at city hall is to blame.But Andy Yan, director of Simon Fraser University’s City Program said the Dunsmuir Hotel controversy hints at a much larger problem. “The whole saga of 500 Dunsumir actually shows a larger systemic problem in the City of Vancouver of not knowing the number of abandoned or vacant buildings in the city which themselves are deteriorating,” he said. “We just don’t know. For a city that is so much in a housing emergency, I think this is really alarming.”Yan added that the Dunsmuir property could be viewed as a case of “demolition by neglect,” and said it remains unclear if the owner will be penalized financially for or forced to replace the 150 single-room accommodation units it was home to.In a statement, the city said the only vacant building it knows of that could potentially be a safety risk to the public is 500 Dunsmuir.But at the council meeting that decided the fate of the property earlier this month, Coun. Peter Meiszner asked the city’s chief building official if the city was regularly inspecting large vacant buildings, and was told no. Meiszner said it was “shocking” that the city doesn’t have a good answer to how many unoccupied buildings are in the city and what condition they are in.He said city staff have been directed to form a task force in the new year to address that ga
Vacant Buildings Dunsmuir Hotel Vancouver City Council Public Safety Urban Planning
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Extremely compromised’: Vancouver’s 115 year old Dunsmuir Hotel could face demolitionBut the building has been vacant for more than a decade, and a report to city council says the building has become dilapidated and dangerous.
Read more »
Vancouver to debate demolishing hazardous, dilapidated heritage buildingThe historic former Dunsmuir Hotel was built at 500 Dunsmuir Street in 1909, but has sat vacant since 2013.
Read more »
Spectre of proposed vacant land tax alarms Vancouver developerDepartment of Finance currently seeking input as federal election looms
Read more »
Spectre of proposed vacant land tax alarms Vancouver developerDepartment of Finance currently seeking input as federal election looms
Read more »
7 Must-Try Holiday Desserts in Vancouver - Vancouver MagazineIn general, we’re pretty pro “treat yourself” at Vanmag and this goes […]
Read more »
Heavy fog envelopes parts of Vancouver Island, Metro VancouverHeavy fog has enveloped parts of southwestern B.C., including parts of Vancouver Island, a day after Metro Vancouver saw near-zero visibility.
Read more »