"CTC wishes to demolish all vacant houses and to pursue our plaza enhancement project," he wrote.
Community and Official Reactions
Local residents expressed relief over the removal of the boarded-up structures that damaged neighborhood perception.
"About time!" said Bill Voakes, a west end resident.
Voakes noted that the long-abandoned buildings created an uninviting environment for local community members.
"I'd rather just put it [like this]: Let's just keep going, guys, just keep these things coming down and we can clean this up," he said.
Ward 2 Councillor Frazier Fathers stated that the buildings deteriorated past the point of restoration because the company declined to submit traditional redevelopment plans.
"You can’t actually see it from the road, but, you put a drone up in the air you can actually see the roof that sort of collapsed on top of the house," said Fathers.
Fathers explained that the city previously restricted demolitions without an approved replacement plan under the Sandwich Demolition Control Bylaw.
"At any point in time, the CTC could have come to us, could have come to the city with a plan, hey, we want to tear down these two homes and build an apartment building or build new family homes.
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They could have done those things and those homes, demolition orders could have been processed, they chose not to," he said.
Fathers emphasized that the properties remained unoccupied for over 25 years due to corporate decisions.
