The owner of Winnipeg’s former Vulcan Iron Works site insists he’s ready to begin demolishing the charred remains of an industrial building repeatedly hit by fire and thefts.
Sheldon Blank, who has again applied to the city for a demolition permit, said he will agree to measures to mitigate possible asbestos exposure in order to get a provincial stop-work order lifted.
“It’s an expensive proposition for me to leave it like this because there’s an ongoing cost. There’s no benefit to me to leave it that way,” he said.
Vulcan Iron Works owner Sheldon Blank intends to demolish a steel superstructure at Sutherland Avenue and Maple Street North destroyed by fire last summer. (Ruth Bonneville / Free Press)
“Hopefully, the city will co-operate with us and we can do what will make everybody happy, including the neighbours.”
North Point Douglas residents have described the site as a safety hazard and eyesore and lamented the lack of progress on moving forward with the site’s cleanup.
Blank intends to demolish a steel superstructure that was destroyed when the complex at Sutherland Avenue and Maple Street North went up in flames in July. He plans to repair a building on the east side of the site.
It is not yet known when the demolition or removal of debris can begin because the permit has not yet been approved and the stop-work order is still in place. It will be completed within 60 days of the start date, Blank said.
“The cost to do the demolition may be more than the property is worth,” he said.
In a bid to reduce costs, he is asking the city to allow him to dump hundreds of tonnes of bricks at Brady Road landfill without charge.
The province’s workplace safety and health division, which issued the stop-work order because of the possible presence of highly toxic asbestos, has instructed him to dispose of the bricks in an asbestos landfill site, Blank said, noting that would be cost prohibitive for him.
The bricks themselves are not asbestos-containing materials, he argued.
“(They’re) in the vicinity of the material that may contain asbestos,” Blank said.
Material has to be soaked with water during asbestos remediation, but that wasn’t possible during the winter, he said.
City Coun. Ross Eadie said the required asbestos remediation could have been completed by now to clear the way for demolition.
“I’m not happy, and neither are the neighbours,” Eadie (Mynarski) said. “He’s trying to make us seem like the bad guys. I want him to stop playing games and get the site cleaned up because the neighbourhood deserves to have a clean, better-looking area.”
Area resident Katherine Bitney echoed Eadie’s assessment.
“The sooner they clear that out, the better. We don’t know what is leaking into the soil or what people could be coming into contact with that could be dangerous,” Bitney said.
“I really wish people in charge would clean it up.”
This past fall, the city ordered Blank to demolish and clear the site by Dec. 4. He filed an appeal and was granted an extension to sort out a solution with workplace safety and health, which has not yet happened.
His first bid for a demolition permit was denied because the application contained insufficient information, a letter he received from the city stated.
The stop-work order will stay in place until a plan appropriately addresses asbestos risks — including measures to prevent it from becoming airborne — before demolition work can begin, the province has said.
Blank’s earlier proposals were rejected. He plans to approach the province again after city hall’s property and development committee considers his appeal at a meeting today.
“We’re prepared to start the demolition and do it in a way that workplace safety and health will be satisfied,” Blank, who owns Gateway Industries, said.
The committee was scheduled to vote on the appeal Feb. 12 but adjourned the matter to give Blank more time.
The province had nothing new to say when contacted for comment last week.
Blank believes the July 2023 fire was deliberately set.
The Winnipeg Police Service previously said the fire was being investigated as a possible arson. There were no updates on the investigation last week, spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said.
Since the initial blaze, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews have responded to seven reports of fire at the site, spokeswoman Terryn Shiells said.
Copper and other materials that can be resold are being stolen by thieves who knock down or breach a metal security fence, Blank said.
Police have been called multiple times regarding trespassing or thefts, he said.
Blank was trying to sell the former foundry site before the initial fire.
The businessman said he didn’t have insurance, and he has incurred a financial loss in the hundreds of thousands of dollars because of fire damage, thefts of copper wiring, post-blaze security measures and other costs.
Blank said he isn’t sure what the site is worth or how much the demolition will cost.
Property and development committee chairwoman Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) declined to comment on Blank’s appeal prior to today’s hearing.
She said she has directed the city department to be tough on dereliction, debris and vacant or problematic properties.
“Safety comes first,” Rollins said.
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Chris Kitching
Reporter
As a general assignment reporter, Chris covers a little bit of everything for the Free Press.