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Elliot Lake ready to get rid of 'eerie' collapsed mall

News that the rest of the Algo Centre Mall is coming down is being met with relief in Elliot Lake.

The community has been left to wonder about the site since the deadly mall roof collapse in June.

A lawyer for the company that owns the mall said the city has now issued a demolition order.

That comes as a relief to Olivia Depencier-Foy, who owns the Olive Stone Day Spa and Galleria across the street from the mall.

“Even at night time, to look up into the sky in Elliot Lake and see this huge white light constantly reminds us the lights are shining down on the old mall site for security purposes,” Depencier-Foy said.

“It's like this eerie orb of light that's always there, so there's always a reminder night and day."

The lawyer for the mall owners said they will comply with the order to start demolition by the end of December, but first they are trying to determine if contents trapped inside the mall can be removed before it comes down.

Currently entry to the mall has been prohibited by a Ministry of Labour order — something that a ministry spokesperson says is not expected to change before demolition begins.

“We still very much want to see tenants recover their property, particularly any tenants that were uninsured,” said Michael Title, a lawyer for Eastwood Inc., the company that owns the mall.

“And particularly any sensitive files and records. But doing so must also be safe for any persons entering the structure."