The first of several vacant buildings slated to be demolished by the city met its end Wednesday.
It took crews less than two hours to reduce the house at 283 South St. to rubble. The two-storey building was on a list of properties city council approved for demolition in July due to property standards violations.
According to the city, the vacant buildings, which are privately owned, are a safety concern and contribute to neighbourhood nuisance issues and complaints.
"The issues were break and enters, prostitution, drug use, squatters, arson, graffiti, all of those types of things that add blight to a neighbourhood," says Orest Katolyk, manager of bylaw enforcement for the city. "We do advise the property owners of these concerns, as do the police, but at a certain point the property is beyond rehabilitation."
Katolyk says another three buildings will be knocked down over the coming weeks.
"At this point we are not sharing the locations or the timing schedule of that. We have in the past and there have been some illegal activities because of that," says Katolyk.
All costs associated with the demolitions including staff inspection fees and land leveling will be billed to the property owners.