A year later, Ridout Street arson investigation remains open

More than a year after a fire shut down his business, Farid Arbi remains keen to get back to work. 

The only problem is, he'll now have to find another place to do it. 

For almost five years Arbi, who works as a paralegal, leased a small office in the ground-floor of 435 Ridout St. N. Four other tenants, all lawyers, also leased space in the heritage-designated brick building that dates from the 1830s. 

Kitty corner to the downtown courthouse along historic banker's row, Arbi said the building was the perfect location for his business. He specializes in face-recognition and finger-printing software used in background record checks. 

"I was doing well there," Arbi told CBC News. "I was busy." 

That all changed on Sept. 24, 2018. Arbi awoke to messages on his phone indicating an entry alarm at his office. He then heard news reports about the fire. Officials at the time described the fire as suspicious.

Just before Christmas last year, Arbi was asked to come and remove personal items from the office. He'd hoped this was to clear the way for restoration work. 

Once inside, Arbi was relieved to see his office wasn't too badly damaged. He could see that his furniture and floor would need to be replaced, but believed the restoration wouldn't last more than a few months.

"I kept waiting and nothing happened," he said. 

As the weeks and months passed, Arbi said he made multiple calls to the landlord for updates. 

The building is owned by Farhi Holdings Corporation.

"They said it's not going to be done overnight and there are issues they have to deal with," Arbi said. "Insurance or repair issues. They told me 'We don't know when it's going to be done.'"

CBC News called Farhi Holdings Corporation for comment on this story Tuesday, but did not receive a response. 

Arbi said in October an employee of Farhi Holdings told him the company now plans to lease the entire space to a single tenant, and that Arbi would not be able to return to his former office. 

The building has been gutted in recent months, with everything removed to expose the brick walls and bare concrete floor. 

CBC News has reached out to the other former tenants of the building.

Immigration lawyer Greg Willoughby responded, and said in the days after the fire it became clear to him that any restoration work was going to take much longer that he was willing to wait.

"It wasn't happening quickly so I think everyone just moved on and leased other business premises," he said. "It was obvious that he wasn't inviting us back again."

Police say they want anyone with information about the fire to come forward or call their tip line at 519-661-5670.