The eyesore that was the remains of Salmon Arm’s 7-Eleven is coming down.
A demolition crew was at the site of the former building, located on the Trans-Canada Highway, on Wednesday morning, May 22.
An excavator began levelling the structure that had been sitting derelict since it burned in August 2018. No one was hurt by the blaze, which started after a car crashed into the front of the building and spread very quickly.
A release from the RCMP three days after the fire stated the vehicle was driven into the front of the store and then a suspect poured gasoline inside the store and set it on fire.
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Kenneth Robert Laforge, 37, faces charges including arson damaging property, arson in relation to inhabited property, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and mischief to property over $5,000 in relation to the fire.
The property is owned by Imperial Oil and leased by the convenience store chain. 7-Eleven has told the City of Salmon Arm they are interested in relocating elsewhere in town.
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Prior to the demolition, Salmon Arm Mayor Alan Harrison and council submitted a letter to Imperial Oil and 7-Eleven Canada, noting the city had received numerous inquiries about the former store as to whether it would be re-opening or demolished.
“The property is located in the downtown core and is very visible in our community,” Harrison explained in the letter.
Harrison and the city received a response by Victor Vrsnik with 7-Eleven’s corporate affairs department, assuring the building would be demolished before the May long weekend.
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