Barricades In Place At Derelict Canadian Hotel

October 18, 2018

The City of Hamilton is advising that “barricades have been put in place along the south-facing façade of the derelict Canadian Hotel at the corner of Reid and Court Streets,” as “the integrity of the building has been severely compromised over the years due to its derelict condition.”

Canadian Hotel Bermuda October 2018

“The City of Hamilton’s Senior Engineer previously contacted the Building Control Department regarding the safety of the building and the City’s concerns that parts of it have and will likely continue to fall off,” a spokesperson said.

“At the request of the Government, the City has installed barricades on Reid Street restricting access in front of the building and the sidewalk in the affected area has been closed. The far right, westbound turning lane, is not in use.”

City Engineer Patrick Cooper stated, “The integrity of the building has been severely compromised over the years due to its derelict condition. The health and safety of the public will always be of utmost importance to the City so we have taken some proactive action in this regard.”

“The future of the property is still unclear but until such time as the property is redeveloped, the barricades or another identified safety measure will remain in place.”

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Comments (20)

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  1. gustav says:

    they will stay for years over there ……………
    knock it down and good it is !

  2. Jus' Askin' says:

    Enough is Enough!!!
    All the old buildings need to come down!!!
    Why must something bad happen first before something is done?

    • Kim Smith says:

      I whole-heartedly support all the comments demanding that the owner of this building be required to do whatever is required to address the condition of this building.

      If I am not mistaken, if a building is even deemed to be ‘unsightly’, the Minister of Works and Engineering has the power (under Section 4 of the Amenities (Control of Ruinous Structures) Act 1950) to order that work be done to remedy the situation, or have the work done and the cost passed on to the owner. Surely his powers are absolute if a building is or threatens to fall down!

      Otherwise, the Minister for Planning has some powers to act too. Please can one or the other do something before we have to tolerate having barriers up for who knows how long and with questionable protection from falling concrete. Businesses in the area should be up in arms!

      For once, please stop putting bandaids on issues. This one is simple to remedy, please order it to be done immediately… if not sooner.

      • novaperspectiva says:

        I agree!This safety risk is totally unacceptable!!!!!Not to mention the inconvenience to pedestrians and traffic.

  3. frank says:

    force the owner to knock it down
    last time I heard he can be found on Burnaby street

    • sunny says:

      ……and thats what he wishes for……so he will collect $$$$$$$

  4. frank says:

    force the owner to knock it down

  5. Toodle-oo says:

    The owners have been dicking around with this property for at least 20 years while it continues to crumble.
    I have little doubt that those barriers will still be inconveniencing us for the next 20 .

  6. Owner is Responsible says:

    If the safety of pedestrians and the public are compromised to the point that the city has to install barricades than the building owner has a responsibility to secure their site or have it demolished. Make it happen Bermuda!! If not, it will simply be used as a shelter for those who use it. A fire or worse could occur.

  7. Ronnie Viera says:

    This is a little crazy. I agree with the barriers but to say they will be in place until the owner redevelops the land is just not right. The owner should be fined every day for blocking a lane until he rectifies the situation.

  8. VJ says:

    Oh, I feel so much better knowing those plastic barricades will keep me safe from the building crashing down on top of me as I drive along Reid Street!

  9. The entire structure is not safe and has not been for quite sometime and to allow it to now just have plastic baracades is not acceptable, there are engineers that agree that the condition of the building is in dire need or being imploded, so get on with it, that portion of Reid street extentsion will have to be closed for a period, allowing for this to be done, I do remember that there was a news story many years ago, about turning the building back into a hotel, but I guess those plans never got to go to print.

    the front of the building has many areas that look as if it is just a matter of time before parts of the building will actually fall into the street, so it is a good thing that the authorities have taken action and did not wait until someone was seriously hurt or killed.

    It is a great location to have a city hotel but what the heck, we would need investors to make that happen.

  10. LIability? says:

    Unbelievable! The City and the Government are aware of a building that it is unsafe and could jeopardize an innocent person who needs to walk down this street in our capital city. Their solution is to put up unsightly plastic barriers and make the sidewalk no longer accessible and require the public including children to have to walk on the right lane of one of the busiest streets in Hamilton protected by plastic barriers! The owner must be fined until he either removes the unsafe building or renovates it. There must be a law to address an unsafe building that is endangering the public. Take a real stand please, not inconvenience the entire community and push them off the sidewalk and out into the street.

  11. Bermuda Born... Bermuda raised says:

    I bet this is sorted before the World Triathlon Championship returns

  12. Fish says:

    The owner of this building is in a position to emplde this building. The restaurant he owns has been a gold mone for years. It’s time for the authority’s to make him do something about it before someone gets hurt.

  13. Bob&Margaret says:

    Can’t we get a crypto currency business to sort it out for us?

  14. Bdabye says:

    Cut your hedges or we will do it for you and then bill you.
    Fix your building or we will do it for you hmmmmmm???

  15. Kim Smith says:

    Update on the more appropriate Act that governs dangerous, dilapidated buildings or structures:

    Further to an earlier posting I can now advise of the Building Act 1988, Section 20 which addresses dangerous, dilapidated buildings or structures and holds that the Minister (of Planning, I believe) is authorised to order the remedy of the danger… to make an order that the owner of the building be required to repair or demolish the building to obviate the danger.

  16. PBanks says:

    “The future of the property is still unclear but until such time as the property is redeveloped, the barricades or another identified safety measure will remain in place.”

    - Unclear? It’s clear that redevelopment/renovation is nowhere on the horizon. This eyesore is a public safety hazard and ought to be demolished before it falls apart and potentially injures somebody.

    Hey, when companies are advertising on the windows of that structure, are they paying the owner, curious?

    • Kim Smith says:

      You raise a good question about the advertising on the windows of the adjoining building and whether the owner is being paid for it. Empty or derelict buildings are exempt from paying taxes which in itself seems to actually be an incentive to keep a building empty and deteriorating.