Last PMV Canada buildings in Saint John to be demolished
Saint John Council has ordered the demolition of what may be the final two buildings in the city owned by Fredericton based developer PMV Canada.
The adjacent, century old wood apartment houses have been a serious headaches for neighbours and first responders.
Firefighters responded to a fire at 123 Main St. as recently as Aug. 28, while 135 Main St. is described as being the scene of 'multiple fires.'
Since September, 2018 at least 10 other older wood apartment houses, also owned by PMV, have been demolished by the city in the same neighbourhood.
The buildings were purchased as a group two years earlier following the bankruptcy of another company, Phillip Huggard Properties LTD.
At the time, PMV's chief operating officer, Dave Loten, said the company would renovate many of the buildings and demolish a handful that were in poor condition.
But the company quickly ran afoul of city inspectors after several of the properties were discovered to be vacant, often open, and in disrepair.
Over the past two years the company has quietly sold off a long list of remaining properties in the city.
In March a commercial plaza at 358 Rothesay Ave. was released for $400,000, $200,000 less than the company paid for it in 2015.
And in August a three-storey wood frame apartment house on Bridge Street sold for just $16,000.
That leaves the two Main Street apartment houses which are slated to come down within four to five weeks.
"The building is a hazard to the safety of the public by reason of being vacant and by reason of dilapidation," said Benn Purinton, city technical services officer about 123 Main St. "The building has been abandoned."
The process was repeated for 135 Main.
The buildings are assessed at just $2,700 each.
In December, 2019, Carly O'Toole, the real estate agent acting on PMV's behalf for the sale of the properties, said Thi To, a representative of the family owned company, had hoped to construct something new on the lots at 123 through 135 Main.
She released a statement on To's behalf.
In it, To blames a former employee for the company's problems to that point.
"We had good intentions when we invested in Saint John, and we feel we were taken advantage of," said To. "Our company received a lot of negative press because of one person's actions, and they are no longer employed by PMV."
The person is not named in the statement.
The family won a court judgment in January against former manager Loten for $162,000 dollars including costs, over unpaid personal loans.
