Demolition of Vancouver heritage building begins after council order

Demolition began Saturday on the former Dunsmuir Hotel in downtown Vancouver, a heritage building that had become a threat to public safety because of neglect.

VANCOUVER — Crews in downtown Vancouver are demolishing a more than century-old heritage building that the city’s chief building official says is so badly damaged it is at risk of collapse.

The building at 500 Dunsmuir St., commonly known as Dunsmuir House, was built in 1909 initially as a hotel. It has also served as barracks for sailors in the Second World War, a Salvation Army home for veterans and later social housing, but has been empty since 2013.

Last month the city ordered that the building owned by Holborn Properties come down, declaring it a danger to public safety “due to severe structural deterioration.”

The city said last week it was disappointed the owners “neglected the building to the point where demolition became the only viable option to ensure public safety.”

Saul Schwebs, Vancouver’s chief building official, told reporters Saturday that the structure is in that condition due to a lack of maintenance and that a roof leak led to severe rot, which caused the ground floor on the southeast corner to fall into the basement.

The building’s unreinforced basement walls rely on the flooring for lateral support, he said, and without it the structure is unstable.

“If anything else more falls in there, if another piece of the floor falls on a different level, that could bring part of the wall with it, and it would be a catastrophic, cascading collapse without warning,” he said.

Holborn Properties said in a statement Saturday that a report it commissioned in mid-October 2024 concluded that while the building should not be occupied, it was not a public safety hazard nor had to be demolished right away.

“We understand the city’s building inspector has a contrary opinion on the structural integrity of the building,” the statement said.

“From the outset, we have had plans to redevelop this location, incorporating 500 Dunsmuir Street into a broader vision for revitalization that would benefit the community and we remain committed to this process.”

The company, which is paying the cost of the demolition, said it submitted redevelopment proposals to the city three times since BC Housing ceased operation at Dunsmuir House in 2013, but that none have been successful.

It said it’s focused on the future of the site and “incorporating it into a plan that addresses community needs.”

Schwebs said the city initially wanted to save some of the building’s components, including the facade or the cornice, but that would have taken too long given the risk to the public.

“Unfortunately, we can’t save anything, which is really not a good outcome for this building,” he said.

“We’ll get it down safely, and I’ll be happy that the risk to the public has been mitigated, but the fact that we’re losing this building today is not a good outcome for the city.”

The building, which is on the city’s heritage registry, is expected to be demolished by late Sunday or early Monday morning though Schwebs said it will take months for the pile of rubble to be removed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2025