Port Alberni bylaw services manager Flynn Scott says that the city of Port Alberni is “getting really close” to the Arrowview Hotel’s demolition.
The derelict hotel has been slated for demolition since August 2018, after the property owner missed a deadline in his attempt to restore the building. The Arrowview Hotel has been, for the most part, sitting empty at the corner of Second Avenue and Athol Street for more than a decade.
READ: City of Port Alberni to proceed with Arrowview Hotel demolition
A fence has gone up around the structure as a safety measure for some of the debris that has been falling since the Dec. 20 windstorm, said Scott.
READ: Park cleanup, closures continue on Vancouver Island in wake of windstorm
A tender package has been put together for demolition, and now the city is waiting on an engineering firm to make sure the building is safe before demolition takes place. According to Scott, the city is hoping to have the building down by April.
An August report from former director of development services Scott Smith estimated that the cost of demolition will be around $400,000. Scott is hoping to present an updated estimate to council sometime in March.
“We’ll have a better idea once the engineering firm goes in,” he explained.
The bill will be at the property owner’s expense. But because of the price tag, it is unlikely the property owner will be able to pay it.
“It will most likely be a cost incurred by the city,” said Scott.
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