‘We feel the brick falling’: McDermot Avenue building set for demolition, neighbours worry about the mess left behind

An old warehouse in Winnipeg’s West Alexander neighbourhood is nearing its breaking point.

The city has issued a demolition permit for the building located at 579 McDermot Avenue after an engineering assessment revealed it’s unsafe.

The crumbling building has some area residents worried about the fall and the fallout.

“These cracks are coming up every day. They’re getting bigger,” said Greg Holland, who has lived near the warehouse for the last 20 years.

Holland has been watching the building fall apart before his eyes over the last couple of months.

The deteriorating exterior of the building at 579 McDermot Avenue on July 12, 2024. (Jamie Dowsett/CTV News Winnipeg)

“On this one side over here, it’s starting on the bottom where that window is. It started there and it’s going all the way up. Just cracking, cracking, right to the roof.”

The property has been fenced off and those who live next door were evacuated as a precaution. But those left behind are on edge.

“We feel the brick falling. We hear it, there’s some rumbling,” said Alexandra Demers, who lives nearby. “Each time there’s a big truck passing on the street, we hear the cracking.”

In June, the city said it ordered the owner to have an engineer address “clear signs of deterioration” with the building.

“Based on the engineer’s assessment, the city learned there were more immediate risks with the condition of the building and a further order was given to the owner to immediately address the building’s condition,” a spokesperson for the city told CTV News Winnipeg.

Jino Distasio, an urban geography professor at the University of Winnipeg, said you never want to see a building collapse.

“We want to make sure that we have measures in place to prevent any kind of disaster like that from occurring,” said Distasio.

Those measures include more frequent inspections and checking on the city’s aging infrastructure.

“Demolition should be the last resort of a city to deal with a building that’s in distress,” Distasio said. “It really should be the owner’s obligation to ensure its safety.”

Part of the building at 579 McDermot Avenue that is falling apart on July 12, 2024. (Jamie Dowsett/CTV News Winnipeg)For residents like Holland, they welcome the teardown.

“We’ve been trying to get this thing knocked down for over two weeks now,” said Holland.

However, Demers is concerned about the mess it will leave behind.

“So I hope the city will also take care of that, just so that’s it’s not just another pile of garbage in the neighbourhood,” said Demers.

The city said the owner and their contractor are responsible for remediating the property and must submit any future redevelopment plans for review.

In the meantime, neighbours hope their concerns don’t fall through the cracks.

“It sometimes feels like the city is falling apart.”

Demolition is expected to start no later than Monday and will be carried out by the property owner and their contractor. CTV News Winnipeg talked with the owner Friday, but they declined comment.