Residents of Winnipeg’s St. John’s neighbourhood say the rubble left behind after a building was demolished earlier this year is both an eyesore and a safety hazard for the community.
Josyf Mudryj told Global Winnipeg that the building at 366 Church Avenue was demolished in late February, months after a Nov. 19, 2024 fire.
“There are some holes here — it looks like (it’s a) partially collapsed basement with a lot of hazardous materials and so forth,” Mudryj said.
“So there’s a few openings here that have been, I guess, rummaged through and burrowed, dug through over the last few days.”
Mudryj said he’s called 311 on numerous occasions about the demolished building, but so far hasn’t seen any action. He’s been told the report has been received, and given a confirmation number — but with no apparent movement toward the site being cleaned up.
“I’ve been here for 25 years and I’ve know people that have been here for many more,” he said. “My grandmother’s been here since 1960.
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“And it’s just a shame that such a nice street, with nice homes, that this kind of eyesore needs to be here.
“It needs to really be cleaned up — or at least properly closed off in the meantime.”
The site’s location, he said, which is adjacent to St. John’s High School, means there’s a lot of foot traffic nearby, and he’s calling for change sooner rather than later.
“It’s a lot of young families, a lot of kids around, teenagers and that… it’s a nice area. So we hope that this is cleaned up as soon as possible.”
Another resident concern is that people have been entering the site, digging into the basement, and taking metals to eventually sell. For Vilma Mimaril who lives right next door to the property, that’s been the most unsettling part.
“It’s scary to go out especially at night, even during the daytime, because I just don’t feel comfortable.”
The property is in the Mynarski Ward. Its councillor, Ross Eadie, says the city has increased efforts to deal with these kinds of abandoned and derelict properties.
As for why the Church Avenue site hasn’t been cleaned up, Eadie says it may be the volume of work contractors are currently dealing with.
“It’s not just the north end here, it’s the west end, it’s central, there’s all kind of these properties, so I don’t know if the delay may have to do with the contractors time availability to get the work done.”
A bid process for contractors is now open until April 28th for the next phase of demolition. City officials wouldn’t comment on when they expect the site in St. John’s to be cleaned up.
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