Halifax tenant 'in a panic' after coming home to find house under demolition
A tenant of a historic home on Young Avenue in Halifax says he came home this weekend to the building being torn down around him and the other occupants.
Peter Fillmore has lived in an apartment on the second floor of a mansion at 825 Young Ave. for a decade. He said he only found out the demolition had begun when he returned home to find orange tarp covering the windows, scaffolding on the outside of the building, siding removed and one of his windows broken.
"I was in a panic. I called 911," said Fillmore.
"I said, 'Yes is this an emergency, they're destroying the house around my ears.'"
No rules against it
Fillmore said he's since been in touch with the developer, Stavros "Steve" Tsimiklis of Dino Capital Ltd, and is working to negotiate how and when he'll move out, likely in the next two months. Fillmore said his lease is legal until April.
The city has stopped work at the site and has ordered the developer to make sure the building is still liveable for tenants.
Michael Moore, a lawyer for Dino Capital Ltd., told CBC News there are no rules against beginning work on a building while tenants live inside.
The municipality's Heritage Advisory Committee asked council last week to consider expediting heritage registration for the house at 825 Young Ave., but council rejected that motion Tuesday and said too much damage had already been done to the building.
It's the second time Dino Capital Ltd. had beat the municipality in a race to demolish a house before it could be given heritage status. The same company owns the property next door — now an empty lot — which used to be a house known as the Cleveland Estate.
'Just breaks my heart'
Fillmore said he's disappointed city council didn't act sooner.
"It just breaks my heart to see that we're not doing more about preserving our heritage," said Fillmore.
Coun. Waye Mason agreed.
"It's one of the most horrible things I've ever seen, that people are living in a building that is halfway to being torn down," Mason said earlier this week.
Mason said he is still hoping to include a historic district for the street in the city's centre plan.
Group petitioned heritage committee
Peggy Cunningham, with the group Save Young Avenue, said the group petitioned the Heritage Advisory Committee to act two months ago. She believes the house could have been saved.
"It's a craftsman house," said Cunningham. "It was designed and built by Edmund Burke, the top architect of his time."
Moore said the city needs to make owning a heritage home financially beneficial if it wants property owners to pursue heritage status.
"The people that own these properties do not go seeking designation for their properties to get heritage designation," said Moore. "Because, in my opinion, it's not economically in their best interest."
Developer has demolition permit
Moore also noted the application for heritage registration did not come from the property owners. Rather, it was sought by a third party — the community members — who "have nothing to lose," he said.
Moore said the developer does have a demolition permit for the property.
