A Montreal family’s damaged building burned a second time after a denied demolition request, highlighting tensions in the city’s vacant-building rules.
A Montreal family’s fire-damaged building on St-Laurent Boulevard burned a second time after the city would not allow it to be demolished without plans for a replacement project, a case that is renewing questions about how Montreal handles vacant and vulnerable properties.
Jane Lu told CBC the first fire, in May 2024, began in the Bouillon Bilk restaurant and spread through the building, forcing her elderly father, her brother and tenants on the upper floor out of their apartments. Firefighters had to open floors and ceilings to ensure the fire was out, and water damage was extensive.
“We had to get an engineer’s report that said it was pretty much a 90 per cent loss,” Lu said. “They had to condemn the building.”
Lu’s family concluded it did not have enough money to rebuild and sought a demolition permit, hoping to leave the land vacant while deciding what came next. But the city required plans for a replacement project, along with proof of financing, before demolition could be approved.
The building stayed empty. Lu said her family boarded doors and windows and fenced off access at the rear, but worried people would break in and start another fire. Less than a year after the first blaze, she said, a squatter entered the restaurant space and started a fire in the basement. More than 100 firefighters responded, and the damage caused the building to collapse, leaving the fire department to demolish it, according to Lu.
The City of Montreal would not answer CBC’s questions about Lu’s property specifically. Caroline Braun, the executive committee member responsible for housing, said demolition requests are assessed against the proposed replacement project, which must be of greater public interest than the building being removed. Owners may seek a special emergency permit if a building is considered a danger to the public.
Braun said the city’s goal is to protect Montreal’s cultural and architectural heritage. “We don’t want people to just destroy all the buildings that have a certain value just because it’s more expensive to repair it than to rebuild something new,” she said.
Lu’s building did not have heritage status at the time of the fires, though CBC reported that some local architects considered it historically significant. The broader problem, critics say, is that a rigid process can leave damaged buildings standing for months while owners, insurers and city officials work through requirements.
Chris Ross, head of Montreal’s firefighters’ association, told CBC it is not unusual for vacant buildings to burn more than once. He said the safer choices are to demolish a building or renovate it to standard — not leave it empty and hope fire does not return.
Lu said she understands the city must deal with negligent owners, but argues officials should have more room to distinguish between speculation and families trying to manage a damaged property they cannot afford to rebuild.
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