Derelict apartment building sparks concern

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/11/2017 (2352 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Driving south on Osborne Street, it’s really impossible to miss.

The Rubin Block, a grand three-storey apartment block at the corner of Morley Avenue and Osborne, seems structurally sound enough.

Windows on the upper-floor apartments are obviously new. However, the second and ground floors tell a much different story.

Whitewashed plywood has been applied by the city to the windows on the main and second floors, leaving ugly pockmarks that have drained the block of its heritage charm. What should be a focal point for this bustling, venerable neighborhood is instead a derelict eyesore.

The story of the Rubin Block is long and painful.

It has suffered two fires — one in 2014 and another in 2006 that have left parts of the building uninhabitable.

In 2011, a body of a man who died from “violent circumstances” was found inside the building.

Members of the south Osborne business community, along with neighbourhood activists, have met with the owners and discussed possible uses for the building.

There have also been offers to purchase it and redevelop it as a going concern.

All the expressions of interest and urgings from neighbours have been rebuffed by the owners, who have promised to restore the building but have failed to make any meaningful progress.

All that has led to a meeting on Nov. 21 at the Fort Rouge Leisure Centre, where south Osborne residents and other interested parties will meet with Stan Dueck, the manager of inspections for the city’s planning, property and development department to discuss the legal remedies the city may have to help bring this building back to life.

Lamentably, it appears the owner of the building will not be there.

The building is owned by the Werier family, well-known in real estate circles for owning under-utilized and derelict properties throughout the downtown, and refusing third-party offers to either purchase, occupy or restore the buildings.

Repeated attempts were made to contact Alan Werier, the family’s chief representative in Winnipeg, for this story, but to no avail.

In the mid-2000s, the Werier-owned Chelsea Court apartment block on Assiniboine was torn down after years of neglect, against the wishes of heritage proponents.

Despite the fact the lot — which sits at the base of Kennedy St., kitty corner from the Manitoba Legislature — is in a prime area for redevelopment, the family has left it untouched.

NDP James Allum, who represents the Riverview neighborhood in which the Rubin Block is located, lives just a couple of blocks away from the vacant property and at one time rented space on its main level for his constituency office. Allum said in an interview that he has talked frequently with Alan Werier about a variety of plans to bring the building back into service. In each case, Allum said, Werier was uninterested.

“I’ve tried so hard to cultivate a relationship with the family, but they don’t seem to want to work with us,” Allum said.

In a final effort to create pressure on the Weriers, Allum said he started an online petition for area residents that wanted the building restored to working order.

The petition not only attracted 1, 200 signatures, it motivated a group of area residents to form something called the Rubin Block Advocates Association (RBAA), that in turn organized the Nov. 21 forum.

Jeff Palmer, an urban planner and an organizer of the RBAA, said most people in Riverview want to work with the Weriers to turn the property into a new focal point of residential and commercial activity.

However, in lieu of cooperation from the family, Palmer said his group is looking to prompt the city to step in and find a solution.

“We appreciate that the city has to tread carefully when property rights are at stake, but those rights are not absolute,” said Palmer. “We are concerned that the building, as it stands, is a safety concern for the area. It’s an eyesore. Something has to happen.”

The city has several bylaws and legal tools to deal with vacant, neglected and under-utilized buildings, but none is specifically designed to deal with the refusal by the owner of a commercial property to do anything constructive with their asset. Residential properties are another matter.

A neglected residential property can only be boarded up for a period of one year. After that, the owner must show tangible improvements or face the possibility of having the city take title without compensation.

However, commercial property owners are essentially allowed to leave their buildings vacant for an indefinite period of time, as long as its doors and windows are secure, and the land is maintained.

If a building is not secure, the city can issue an order that it be boarded up and the property owner must pay a $2,200 fee. That fee increases by $1,500 for each additional year the building is left vacant.

However, as long as the owner is willing to pay the fees, or secures the doors and windows properly, and is current on taxes (no more than two years in arrears), then the city will not move to seize the property.

Some commercial property owners have learned how to game this system, leaving a property boarded up for a few years, then doing just enough work on it to have the boards pulled down, ending the escalating fees. However, no serious effort is made to restore the property to any semblance of working order.

Allum said he is working on a private member’s bill that would essentially give municipalities additional powers to either seize or incentivize commercial property owners to develop vacant buildings and property.

However, Allum added, that is a long-term solution.

“All you have to do is look at the Rubin Block and you can see the problem,” Allum said. “There is no good reason for it to be vacant. We should have the tools to make sure that these buildings are not left vacant.”

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca