By Dave Branton-Brown
Partial demolition of Somerset House began early this week to deal with safety concerns that have led to the closure of a section of Bank Street for several weeks.
Crews began tearing down the east side of the building, including the roof, to gain access to its interior to assess the building’s foundations to determine if further demolition may be needed.
In the meantime, Bank Street will remain closed. However, the city announced in a news release that during the closure parking at on-street meters in an area bordered by Kent, O’Connor, Lisgar and Gilmour streets will be free. Area merchants have complained bitterly about the closure saying they have lost considerable business since Oct. 19.
Last week, Somerset House owner Tony Shahrasebi was granted a temporary court order preventing the city from immediately razing the building for safety reasons.
The city and Shahrasebi will work with heritage engineer John Cooke to determine the building’s future.
The city’s chief building official, Arlene Grégoire, said last week that a contractor hired by the city was ready to bring down the building.
“It’s now a demolition site,” she said then. “The day after the decision is made is when we’ll commence.”
But Shahrasebi said his engineers believe they can save the building. adding that the city overreacted when it issued its emergency order to demolish the building.
“It’s very simple to fix the freaking building,” he said.
Shahrasebi had said the city should give him the chance to save the building before they tear it down. That now seems to have happened.
“If they demolish this building, there’s going to be a big lawsuit,” he said. “This is going to go on for years.”
The city stopped Shahrasebi’s plan to fill holes in the building’s foundation with fast-drying concrete when it issued a stop work order on Nov. 30. Shahrasebi wanted to secure the foundation and begin working on the rest of the building.
But Grégoire said the foundation is just one of many factors that make the building unstable. She said the walls and roof are not properly supported.
“The building may look good on the outside, but it’s gutted on the inside,” she said.
Derek Crain, an architect and the chair of the Somerset Village Business Improvement Area, said the city should not demolish the building until it is clear that there are no alternatives.
“I’m troubled by the failure to identify options,” he said.
But Grégoire said the amount of work it would take to save the building could create unsafe conditions.
The city closed the intersection Oct. 19, after the building’s southeast corner collapsed during a construction project and the Ontario Ministry of Labour declared the worksite unsafe. A report to a city planning committee last week stated that the owner will pick up the cost of the street closures, but didn’t include a cost estimate.
Shahrasebi has said he didn’t want the city to close the streets.
“I’m not gonna pay for policing,” he said. “I’m not gonna pay for the closure.”
He said a fence 15 feet from the building would have protected the public, but would not have required streets to be closed.
But Grégoire said a fence would only protect the public from a controlled demolition. It would not be enough to keep the streets safe if the building collapsed on its own, she said.
“There’s a difference of opinion,” she said.
Many business owners are angry and say the street closures have reduced their business and profits.
Shahrasebi said the city is responsible for the damage the street closures have caused.
“I feel for the businesses,” he said.
Shahrasebi said he is upset with how the city is handling the situation. He said the city hasn’t listened to his engineers’ recommendations in the past.
Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes said Shahrasebi’s engineers and city engineers didn’t agree on how to stabilize the building.
“It is unfortunate that we have wasted some weeks,” she said.
She said both sides wanted to keep Somerset House standing because it is a heritage building.
“It’s a tragedy that we’re being forced to take down this building,” she said. “It really is a major benefit to Bank Street.”