A while back Urbanrat sent me some photos of the slums at 501 Erie St. W.
He wrote:
A very concerned resident of the area bounded by Erie Street west, between Bruce Ave and Janette Ave, is very upset about this derelict property at 501 – 529 Erie Street West, a row of townhouses.
This citizen and other residents are very concerned about the state of the building, especially the back wall of some units. They have called the city, their councillors Jones and Postma to have some action taken towards the property, many a time!
The owner has it listed for a rental property but refuses to repair or demolish the building (thus losing revenue tax credit).
There has been reports of squatters, kids et al entering the building at night under the tarps, with neighbours seeing candles or flashlights on in the rooms.
He sent along the following photos:
When I got to this photo he took, of the City Issued order, I stopped, because the order was AN ORDER TO DEMOLISH THE BUILDING AND CLEAR THE SITE ON OR BEFORE AUGUST 1, 2008.
Seeing as it’s now October 3, I thought, I better make sure the place isn’t gone before I post these photos… So yesterday afternoon, I cruised on over to 501 Erie St. W.
Guess what?
The mess is still there… Unbelievable. For the amount of money we spend in taxes living in this city, someone should be embarrassed that this mess is still standing 63 days AFTER the deadline to demolish it. However, I guess if it’s not something sexy like a canal or a big new shiny arena, then it’s not high on the list of priorities for the City to deal with?
Where are Councillors Jones and Postma? Obviously, this isn’t in Sandwich, so Ron Jones will have no interest in looking after it… But where’s Postma? This is kind of her neighbourhood? Too busy with her own burned out rental properties? Nothing like looking after the people who elected you. What a mess Ward 2 is. 2010 isn’t coming quick enough.
Here are a few photos from yesterday afternoon.
I was blown, away to drive over there and to find this place still standing. Is it standard practice for a building to be standing a full two months after the deadline to demolish has passed? This place is a danger to the surrounding community.
Broken, boarded up windows…
Bricks falling off the back of the building… Yeah. I’m sure the neighbours feel much safer with that tarp in place.
The screen door is missing off one of the entrances, the window is missing from the one next to it…
Overgrowing plants, and yellowing, mouldering mail from who knows when in the mail boxes.
There’s that same order.
Based on the extent and nature of the defects the owner shall demolish this structure in its entirety and leave the site in a clear and level manner.
…
YOU ARE HEREBY REQUIRED, by this Order, to do the work required to repair the defects set forth in this Order and make the said property conform to the standards set forth in the said By-law ON OR BEFORE: AUGUST 1st, 2008
Click here to download legible copy of the order.
Looking at the owner’s name it is listed as:
Philip Katz
c/o Walter Muroff
333 Riverside Dr. W.
Suite 218
Windsor, ON
N9A 7C5
A quick google turns up nothing on Katz, but Walter Muroff is a mortgage broker… http://www.waltermuroff.yp.ca/index.htm. But, oh look at this… http://www.fstontario.ca/english/decisions/mortgagebroker/M0280-2006-1.pdf… It just happens to be a a copy of the hearing of the Financial Services Tribunal against Walter Muroff & Co., Ltd.
Muroff was nailed for not filing his financial statements in a timely manner, for 2001, 2002, 2003 & 2004, and had his registration suspended for nine months.
Talk about bad judgement! Either Larry Horwitz:
or
or
Maybe Larry should call his “team” to go remove those signs. Probably not the best building to associate with.
So the ball is in your court City of Windsor… Why is this dangerous eyesore still standing? Ward 2 residents, call or email your councillor to ask why this building is still standing in direct violation of a City issued order.
Maybe A-Channel, CBC or the Windsor Star could pick up this story and run with it. If any readers have any contacts in the media, feel free to tip them off.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention Urbanrat. Hopefully, the readers of this blog can help get some action taken on this issue.
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C'mon guys... let's be fair to Andrew and get back to the topic. This derelict house issue is obviously very important to him, the person who submitted the photos, and a lot of other people lobbying for a better downtown. We won't make any headway on the matter fighting each other about unions again... and asbestos exports to China and what not!
i know john, that's why i feel so damn bad. this wasn't supposed to happen at all!
oh....i guess you were typing when i was posting lol
is there no way for this to really be restored? that's a real big plot to sit empty and i can't really see anything else going up there. i suppose you could fit 3 or 4 homes there though, eh?
On the matter of restoration, I believe this bulding has gone past that "point of no return" - at least in terms of how much it would cost to restore vs its actual value on the real estate market. Perhaps if proper maintenance had been performed when it was needed, it will still be a nice rowhouse to live in downtown and contribute to density.
agreed. that panoramic shot really makes it look like it was a nice place to live back in the day. not horrible sizes either, nice brickwork.
i think it would be cool if someone replicated that place
Well there's a similar type block of townhouses of similar vintage on Logan just west of Howard (right next to Brian's footwear). I haven't compared them tit-for-tat but from the pics here they look basically the same age and vintage. Maybe a little bit older?
hmm....looking at it on google earth looks like a different (peaked)roof. i'm assuming this one here is a flat top? does seem like the same type of building tho don't it? i think logan might be older
The police had been called a few times and they say they'll look into it but have only seen them actually get out of the patrol car once, do a quick check around with flashlights and get back in the car. Another time I was told they will increase the patrol in the area, which they did noticeably, but that didn't help much as what can you see from the front of the building in the 2 seconds it takes to drive by?
Once, over 20 ys ago(giving away my ageLOL), I moved into this duplex downtown. In the basement I found a small paper bag tucked in the rafters about the size of a lunch sac. It was marked asbestos with a marker and was full of powder. I called the Fire Dept(there was no 311 at the time) and they would not come and remove the bag. They said for me to just double bag it in a plastic bag and throw it in the garbage. I ended up having my brother come and remove it cuz I was too scared to handle it.
Paul and Aaron, the two of you, get a life. You can't just rehash stuff from how many threads ago?? Aaron, I never attacked you personally in this thread. I just suggesteded you're blowing things out of proportion and you attacked me. I wasn't the only person who suggested that BTW, so that's uncalled for.
Paul, you need professional help. Seriously. What does this thread have to do with unions? I didn't attack Aaron. Attacking is name calling and I didn't do that in this thread. So, how does that give you the right to do that to me in this thread? Andrew already said to cut it out and you do that to me here? Check yourself and go seek professional help, man.
that's what siblings are for L.S. LOL
i bet you were hoping to find something cool in that bag huh? lol did the fire department just consider it a waste of their time, or were they scared too? i guess they wouldn't tell you that.
with the police, something like this situation should be handled by auxilary officers. basiclly doing security guard work on the whole block...on the beat, if you will. stopping by the building each round and looking for changes in the area.
alright david, you win.
just in the future, don't begin paragraphs with my name or i just might inturpret that as a comment specifically directed towards me. it's a silly way of thinking, i know.
now please, drop this.