Part of a historic building in downtown Nanaimo destroyed in a massive fire last year will be demolished this month.
An electrical malfunction sparked the blaze that gutted the old Jean Burns building on Commercial Street in March 2016.
The building has remained in its derelict state for nearly a year, but the company that owns it says it’ll come down on March 19.
“It’s been a long haul,” said Rick Hyne of Crankshaw Holdings Ltd. “It’s a very expensive process, very tiring, and we’re done.”
Hyne said store owners downtown have complained about the derelict building and the problems that have resulted from it.
“We want to clean up the downtown. It’s an eyesore,” he said. “Looters are in there almost every day no matter what we do, they break down plywood, they saw off bars, they break off locks.”
Only the part of the building that was destroyed will come down, but Hyne said the entire structure may eventually be torn down.
He said the demolition would likely shut down two lanes on Terminal Road during the day of March 19.
A single lane will remain closed for the duration of the demolition, which is expected to take about 20 days.
