Before the demolition, Jean-François Barré, owner of the building on Avenue Sainte-Geneviève, built in 1896, wanted to carry out renovation work to bring it up to date. In 2019, he was granted a permit and grants to carry out the renovation.
45 Avenue Sainte-Geneviève was demolished under the gaze of local residents.
Photo: Radio Canada / Steve Jolicoeur
The city claims to have accomplished its task.
“Generally, when applying for a permit, we assume the will and good faith of the owner to carry out the work,” said Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc, Quebec City Executive Committee Director for Heritage and Urban Planning.
She states that further discussions have been held with the owner to confirm his intention to start work. At the same time, the inspection service continued its work by regularly inspecting the outside of the building. The last inspection was about a year ago. That’s within the normal range, says the consultant.
“Outwardly there were no signs that the building was in danger of collapsing. […] The building didn’t go under the radar as there were inspections. »
– A quote from Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc, Head of Heritage and Urban Planning at the Quebec City Executive Committee
However, no interior inspection was carried out by the city’s teams as the owner claimed not to have started his project yet.
According to our information, which requires validation, there are hypotheses that work has been done inside. Did this work weaken the building? These are things we will judge. If so, someone must be responsible for their actions, said Mayor Bruno Marchand.
Jean-François Barré preferred not to comment for the time being.
assessment of remedial actions
Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc confirms that a fine cannot be ruled out. “We’re in the process of analyzing our various remedies,” she said. But first, a balance sheet must be drawn up.
Jean-François Barré is the owner of the building at 45 avenue Sainte-Geneviève.
Photo: Radio Canada
If there is justification for amending historic preservation regulations to encourage property owners to play their role in preserving buildings, the city will not hesitate to do so, the city council assures. In addition, establishing a register of unoccupied buildings and charging a fee for it, as initially proposed by Quebec, is not excluded.
The aim is for our buildings to be inhabited by people who live in them full-time. […] There are a few [inoccupés] in Old Quebec. But we also want it to be easier to develop and live in. So before we punish the owners, we have to be diligent and that’s what we’re working on, the mayor said.
According to Quebec First leader Claude Villeneuve, the city should take an inventory of buildings in trouble to prevent such a situation from happening again.