Spence neighbourhood resident sick of looking at rubble pile she calls 'Sherbrook Mountain'
Apartment building on Winnipeg's Sherbrook Street burned down nearly 2 years ago
Prairie folk like Winnipeg's Cheryl Martens often get excited when they see a mountain, but she's sick of looking at the giant pile of rubble that was once an apartment building on Sherbrook Street.
"Welcome to Sherbrook Mountain. We've had this for two years now," the Spence neighbourhood resident said, holding up a sign bearing her nickname for the heap of brick, metal and wood.
The apartment block on Sherbrook, between Sargent and Cumberland avenues, was demolished after a fire that broke out on Valentine's Day in 2022.
Since then, the city, the owner and the credit union that holds the mortgage have been locked in a dispute over who should clean it up.
"It's like, you can get the feeling that nobody cares about the neighbourhood, and I know that's not true," said Martens.
In November 2022, the City of Winnipeg ordered the numbered company that is the registered owner of the property to remove the debris. The company told the city's property and development department it no longer had anything to do with the property.
In a notice of appeal on Dec. 21, 2022, a lawyer for the credit union said it was negotiating with an insurance company over the costs.
A spokesperson for Access Credit Union, the mortgage holder, told CBC News on Thursday the financial institution maintains its position that it is not the owner of the property.
The Sherbrook property is not the only derelict pile of rubble Martens has documented in her neighbourhood.
At 640 Sargent Ave., a fire destroyed a vacant house last September. Over on Furby Street, there are two burnt-out properties within the same block between Cumberland and Sargent.
"It seems like once one starts, then other people feel they don't have to clean up their properties either. So the problem is getting worse, rather than better, I think," said Martens.
She has reached out to Daniel McIntyre Coun. Cindy Gilroy and Mayor Scott Gillingham to try to get action on the issue.
Gillingham was not available for an interview.
A spokesperson for the mayor said the city is looking at cleaning up the sites Martens flagged.
The city will be cleaning up at 640 Sargent Ave., the spokesperson said, but couldn't say when. Meanwhile, a consultant has been hired to study how to clean up the Sherbrook apartment, but that work is ongoing, according to the spokesperson.
The spokesperson said the city will also be cleaning up the 688 Furby St. property, but had no update regarding the property at 680 Furby St.
As of last week, 677 Winnipeg properties were subject to the city's vacant building bylaw, a city spokesperson recently told CBC. That bylaw is intended to ensure vacant buildings are properly maintained and allows enforcement officers to inspect Winnipeg properties. Buildings determined to be vacant undergo yearly inspections, which the owners are then billed for.
Gilroy, who has pushed the city to deal with the issue of derelict buildings, said she hopes the city will find money to deal with the Sherbrook property in its next budget.
"I know this is going to be a high cost to remove but it has to be done. This … really has a devastating impact for this community and we really have to get this all cleaned up," she said.
Gilroy brought forward a motion to have the city clean up demolished properties and bill the owner for it, but a report said the costs would outweigh the amount of money the city could hope to get by seizing and selling the property.
The city has taken other measures, such as billing vacant property owners for fire responses, and adding bylaw inspection officers.
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