Montreal’s Negro Community Centre demolished
CBC News | Posted: November 21, 2014 1:33 AM | Last Updated: November 21, 2014
Administrators of the community centre in Little Burgundy filed for bankruptcy in May
The Negro Community Centre in Montreal’s Little Burgundy district has been torn down.
Workers began demolishing the building on Thursday morning, two days after Quebec’s Court of Appeal struck down the Southwest's borough attempt to save the historic building.
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The centre was once the heart of Montreal’s black community, holding after-school programs, dance classes and performances by jazz legends Oscar Peterson and Oliver Jones.
It was also plagued by challenges. The centre was closed for 20 years due to funding problems and extensive repairs.
In April 2014, a wall at the abandoned building collapsed, prompting the Negro Community Centre's administration to file for bankruptcy in 2014.
Last week, a Superior Court judge gave the building’s owner the green light to demolish the building.
Court documents show the building is owned by a numbered company registered in Quebec.