City orders hot water fixed for lone tenant in Hamilton building slated for demolition

Vrancor Group has been ordered by the city to fix the hot water in one of its properties where the gas was cut off more than three weeks ago despite a low-income tenant still living inside.

The city issued a property standards order to Vrancor on Wednesday after an anonymous complaint prompted a bylaw inspection at 756 King St. E. that found water temperatures to be far below code.

Spokesperson Michelle Shantz said a water reading in the derelict, two-storey building measured in at just 23.7 C - nearly half of the minimum 43 C that is required in Ontario.

Bylaw (department) is working with the owner to gain voluntary compliance," said Shantz.

It remains unclear whether gas in the property will be reinstalled. Shantz said the city does not operate shut-off valves" for utility corporations.

Vrancor cut two gas lines from 756 King - a boxy, 14,000-square-foot property between Sanford and Arthur avenues - in late June as it begun the long process of erecting a mixed-use, low-income building with as many as 350 units and a parking garage.

The developer did so while under the impression" the building was empty.

It was not.

And Russ Meier, the building's lone tenant, hasn't had a hot shower or warm meal ever since.

On Friday, two massive excavators - boasting an operating weight of nearly 80,000 pounds each - stretched out over the fissure-riddled parking lot at 756 King.

When they will be used, or why exactly they are there, is a subject of debate between the developer and tenant.

The city's building division has yet to receive an application for a demolition permit, much less issue one, for work at 756 King, said Shantz.

Any property in Hamilton that is demolished and rebuilt - something which Vrancor has pledged to do in an expedited fashion" - must have a city-issued permit.

Vrancor acknowledged the absence of a permit Wednesday and said the excavators are there to merely tick off the requirements necessary before a demolition, similar to what was done with the gas line.

They are there to do what would be allowed before a demolition permit," said spokesperson Mario Frankovich. We would like to, as soon as practicable, go through the demolition process. But we definitely will not proceed with anything without proper permits."

Frankovich added the excavators were brought in with the hope that, in the next really short while, the tenant that is there is accommodated for."

Indeed, Vrancor ramped up pressure this week to vacate the building when it offered Meier lodging at an apartment building it operates on George Street.

We are proposing to charge him the same rent he would be paying now, $800," said Frankovich. We sincerely hope we find a solution with the tenant."

But Meier isn't biting just yet.

He considers the excavators in the parking lot a scare tactic to force him out of the apartment he's called home for 21 years.

I didn't know what the hell to think when I saw them, other than the fact they're doing whatever the hell they want when they want," said Meier.

First the gas, then an excavator (came on Monday). Then another excavator Wednesday. They're trying to force me out. I don't know what to do."

The 54-year-old has been the only tenant in the rundown building - which has leaks in its roof and carpet hallways deluged with water - since at least 2018 after Vrancor bought the property for $1.5 million.

(There had been one other person recently living in a unit on the first floor. Vrancor said he moved in on his own accord, without a lease, and has recently agreed to leave.)

Vrancor said they believed the building was vacant when the gas was cut because they claim Meier was served with a notarized affidavit" on Jan. 5 requiring him to leave because of an impending demolition.

Meier said he never received it.

It's in this contested back-and-forth - namely whether proper notice was given or not - that has put a thorn between the landlord and tenant.

Meier said he doesn't to leave 756 King, however decrepit, because it's where he's comfortable. He can't drive and has been medically retired with no fixed income since 1996. And his apartment, he said, is close to his doctor and pharmacist, whom he visits regularly.

But what Meier most worries about is - should he take Vrancor up on its offer to relocate and sign a lease - he'll be subject to the same callous treatment he believes he's endured in recent weeks.

I don't want to go near Vrancor ever again," he said. They lost my trust. They lost it when they cut the gas and when they showed up with an excavator. How can I trust them again?"

Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com