'Real deadline' coming to start work on Magee House, councillor says

The city again plans to step in to stabilize the historic Magee House on Wellington Street W., more than one year after one its stone walls came crumbling down, according to the councillor for the area.

The approximately140-year-old stone building partially collapsed on July 24, 2018. Since then, the sidewalk and one lane of traffic have been fenced off for public safety.

• Building partially collapses in Hintonburg
• Committee approves demolition of historic Magee House

While city officials have been working with the owner in good faith for the last year to make sure the building is safe delaying previous plans to start working on it they've now decided to give the owner until Aug. 2 to stabilize it to their satisfaction.

"That puts a real deadline in place to complete the work," said KitchissippiCoun. Jeff Leiper.

If that doesn't happen, the city will do the work and charge the owner, Leiper said.

There is even the possibility the city starts shoring up the building before the deadline, he said.

"I think there is a common understanding that the owner is not going to be able to complete the work," he said.

Sidewalks to reopen

The repairs are expected to take about three weeks, Leiper said, after which the sidewalk can finally reopen.

For the last year, business owners on the same block as Magee House have been complaining aboutthe blocked pedestrian access to their shops.

• Reopen sidewalk near Magee House, businesses urge
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"There are business who are kind of stranded between the collapsed house and the next block who are suffering business loses," he said.

"To not have a safe crossing anywhere along there is frankly dangerous for people."

Residents with disabilities affected by sidewalk closure near Magee House

5 years ago

Duration 1:16

Resident Ellen Lougheed and Wellington West BIA director Dennis Van Staalduinen say the sidewalk is vital public space and must be reopened. But Ovidio Sbrissa, owner of Magee House, says he doesn't understand their frustrations.

'We've run out of patience'

Many people simply walk along the fence on the busy roador cross in the middle of the street rather than double back to the closest intersection, Leiper said.

A rally Wednesday morning, organized mainly by the Hintonburg Community Association, attracted about 100 concerned residents and business owners who demanded the sidewalk be opened as soon as possible.

Protesters push for sidewalk to be reopened near Magee House

5 years ago

Duration 1:03

Larry Hudon, president of the Hintonburg Community Association, says pedestrians are fed up with being unable to access the sidewalk, which has been closed since Magee House partially collapsed in July 2018.

"People are fedup," said Larry Hudon,president of the association. "They want access to their sidewalk, they want access to their businesses, they want our traditional main street to return to its original form. We've run out of patience."

The local business improvement area (BIA) also helped organize the protest.

"An emergency is one thing. Fine, we understand there was a need at the beginning," said Dennis Van Staalduinen, executive director of the Wellington West BIA. "But this ongoing stalemate where everyone throws up their hands and says 'We can't do anything to take back our public,' we simply don't believe that."

Owner says city should fix what it broke

The owner of the building, Ovidio Sbrissa, watched the rally from the other side of the fence.

Sbrissa maintains that there's never been any reason to block the sidewalk because he believes the building is stable and not a risk to public safety.

An engineer contracted by the city said in the weeks after the wall collapse that public safety could be in danger because of its shoddy condition, but Sbrissasaid he was wrong and hired his own engineer for a second opinion.

City officials warned him of plans to send crews to stabilize Magee House and charge him for the work, but Sbressa said they have no authority to do that.

"You're not going to touch my building until you prove to me that that wall is unstable," he said.

"They haven't done that yet. I'm declaring to them that that front wall is perfectly stable."

Sbrissa blames the city's engineer consultants for the current state of the historic home.

Shortly after the building partially collapsed, the city deemed it a public hazard and demolished part of the remaining wall.

Sbrissa feels the city's actions were unjustified, and the city should pay to fix what it broke.

"You're fixing your problem," he said. "I'm not going to pay for it."

He's spent$120,000 on the building since the collapse, he said.