By Staff
November 12th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
Backhoe rips apart a building on the west side of John, just north of Lakeshore Road.
More demolition in the downtown core.
The block bound by Brant Street, Lakeshore Road, John Street and Pine, believed to be owned by the Molinaro interests, and for which there are some significant development plans, is undergoing some demolition on the John Street side.
A rendering that was prepared by the city of the block – Lakeshore Road at the bottom. The Molinaro’s were not impressed with what the city had in mind for the property.
There are a number of two storey structures that housed restaurants which are no longer operational. One of them is having a close encounter with a large yellow back hoe.
The demolition should not lead to speculation that a hole is going to be dug and a structure start rising.
If a property isn’t bringing in revenue – better to demolish it and pay a lower tax rate.
I take that back. If it’s just the buildings on John Street (just south of Pine), and not the ones facing the Brant / Lakeshore Intersection, then it’s not as concerning as I initially feared. Still looks as if there’s going to be much more to come in this plot of land.
The Building Code Act requires that the applicant receive a building permit before beginning demolition. It would be interesting to know what the applicant is planning for this plot of land. Surely the City wouldn’t have approved letting them keep the highest profile intersection of the downtown as an empty lot? If so, the BIA should rightfully be having a fit. We already devote a huge section of our waterfront to car parking (beside the hotel, the Locust garage, the lot in the “football”, etc.) so a parking lot in this location would be extreme in terms of its disregard for our Downtown. IMHO, leaving this space empty does more damage to Downtown Burlington than any high-rise building ever could.