Owner unable to comply so “unsafe” Hamilton building being partially demolished by City

The City of Hamilton is putting on its demolition hat this week after the owner of a north-end house under construction – dubbed the ‘Leaning Tower of Ferrie Street’ by locals – said they “cannot effective comply” with an order to bring the structure up to code.

Work began on a partial demolition of the building – which was discovered by an off-duty building inspector January 11 and deemed to be structurally “unsafe” – on January 29 to “fully resolve the structural defects in the compromised building,” said Hamilton Building Inspections Manger Bob Nuttall.

“The building will then be adequately secured and left in a condition that will not pose any threat to the health and safety of the public.”

Residents of the street were displaced for six days when the building at 75 Ferrie St. E. was first cited as being “in danger of collapse” and were only allowed home after an engineer hired by the City of Hamilton deemed the structure sufficiently shored and “no longer an imminent risk.”

This time, Nuttall said, the neighbours will be able to stay in their homes during the work, though some precautionary fencing will be placed around the property lot line to ensure “complete safety” for the neighboring residents. “The street will remain closed for this duration and the City appreciates the community’s patience during this work,” Nuttall said.

Once the work complete – estimated to take a couple of weeks – the building will be left in a safe, under construction condition and given back to the control of the owner, Nuttall added, “with no further required intervention by the City until construction resumes.”

“The owner has been made aware of the next steps and any costs associated with this work will be billed back to the property owner as a priority lien on the tax roll for the property.”