This morning, I attended a verbal update by City staff on the status of the Magee House. While there is no hard-and-fast date to demolish that building, I was encouraged to hear staff say that it is “a matter of when, not if.”
As of today, the owner has failed to demonstrate a viable plan for either preserving the building or demolishing it. That deadline was set on the basis of an expert engineering opinion this summer that winter would be seriously compromise the building and create a public safety hazard.
Under Ontario’s laws, the Chief Building Official has the power to issue emergency orders to deal with public safety issues. With the deadline for a plan for preservation or demolition now passed, the City is moving quickly to re-assess the building’s condition, a pre-condition to demolishing it. We should have that report within the next few days.
