Vos 2 No 42 THURSDAY Ootober 19tlh 1972 CIO" Dumbwai»ter closing Ieads of 300 Hiogh Street A dunibwaiter, used ini the more eleganiit days of 300 Higbi Street whien the site served as the Couinty House of Refuge, bias îini(ïrectly led to ac- tion whiécb calîs for the bu)Liiding "siiieiaite seîl off for Public safety. Iii accordance with a bylaw passed during a special meeting of the couincil ,0on Monday igbylt. the tbuildîing blas bieen oeéred closed and. tinoccupid undler the supervision of the ('bief of Police 'C"iliItil sucbi timeé zîas he owner (Peter MecGavin) shiaîl repair the said building and put saine in a sa te con- dition. and tuit the sýaid building shiah îlot be re- opened or occLlpied un- tii written permiission foôr sucbi reopening or occu- pation lias been secured fromi the towl." l'ie bylaw foilowed a danning report by the town puiblic works de- partnîent Ifoliowinig Ite Septeînber -28thi fire and wvas backed on a brief prepared0on a prelîiiini- ary struIcturatl invest iga- tion1 carried out by the firîn Totten. Simis. F-ui- biki Associates Ltdl. The dumibwaitcr was evîdience tlhat tbe lfire damaxge btid extended even to tbe iower loor of' thie buLildling. As R.E. Sinis of' the conlsulted firm said. "We liad very iîttie 10 go 0on ilidis- covering tbe extent of fire (lainage ho tbe iow- er tloor. Marly are-as in the 'building liad been boarde d up and1( sealed off and we biad no au- tlîority to cut tbrougli the walis in our investi- gation, It was al sbeer stroke of luck when we d iscove redd(amnage i onle of thîe old sbafts ini thie durnbwaiter." According [o thîe re- port brougbit back to counicil by tbe Consul- tants: -Thîe severitv of' damagiite iii the upIper le- vel andi( the row known fire p)enetraition b o er levels is sucb tha t ia col- lap1se of the builing structure is possibile. SuIcb colklpse in fthe up- pe r level coiîld. tbey said., bave several con- se(luences: (a) 1 impac t uploni lower levels mii- nîed iately Ibeniea.tblifie Iîrc-damiaged area cou id result ini their collaplse. (bi) lepenidinig upon tbli fraini ing systemi and ini- terdepenidence of' struc- trai înenî bers, thle sec- tions of thie building nortb and soutlî or the burint area could also coliapse. (c) ln the event of' a collapse, seeondary biazards cou Id occur as a resuit of severed or dam- aged gas lines, steamn uines or the electrical systenii. We tbierefôre nmust recoinimend that tbe building be ciosed to occupaney and entry exceplt for official pur- poses of' 'exianination and/or repair." Other. tiban inîniiedi-I att. daniage seen after tbe Septenîiber 28tb ftire, the consultants uised tbis genleral descriptîin of' tbe building in tileir .report: "Tlie tbuildintg is reported to be about seventy years 01(1 and bias been converted into 24 apartilents. In gen- erai, the building is in a state of disrepair witbi ex tensive crack ing of piaster, deteriorated con- crete and brickwork. rot- tingexteriorwood. etc." l'ie approximiate cost 10 bring the building Liji tb sal ,ety stand(ards un- der the National Bu ill- se. page ing Code is not known. Slum landlord Peter Mc- Gavin of Toronto lias been known to be negli- gent in making repairs inside and out at 300 Higli on behiaîf of his Lô'cal1 of Core Scheme A local arcb itect. Alan Wiicox is skeptical of* the currelît redevelop- nment scliene preseiited o thie l)owntown Act- ion ('oniihttee by Bill Goverde and Alan Pearl becauise of' the platn's îîieceineal treatinent to on1e sectionî of the town core wlîere an overaîl study is nleeded. '1h is a disappoiîît- mient to say thie least that the only sclîeîîe broLrglt forward f'or the redevelopnlieiit oh' the dowiîtowvi core is the hal1f-bak ed seveit year 01(1 proJect envîsioned by Messieurs Goverde and Pearl," Mr. Wilcox told the Free Press on MondLay. Terming the project "4a hop, skip and lump inethod oh' planning," lie saîd lie as a resident arclîitect located witlîiî the four corners, is d is- inayed thiat the econ- onîical int er.ests of the proîîîoters appears to be taking precedence over A other consideration. Ini adlditioni, lie says thie proposed sclieme sbows "a lack of' imîaginîationi and contrary to Gov- er(le's statenient is "rad- tenants, and when in the past he lias had to corn- piy witlî restricétions handed out by the fire departrnent lias only done what was absolute- ly necessary. For this Architect reason it is hoped lie wiIl flot wish to spend more money on the building and that' this will ultimately lead to the structure's final de- struction. Skeptical Redevel opme nt i ca1" onrly ini its bad haste and awkward ap- pearance. He fears the plan, insteaci of barmion- izing will provide an eye- sore wbicbi will spark redevelopmnenh on Ithe saine block 10 taike its p1lac e. (Bill Goverde suizgests tîtat the seventeen prop- er-ty owner-s involve(l in thie soLtheast block, composed of'nianyînier- chiants w'ho own their own pr-operh ies, f*ornna conîpany and leaise the land ho a developer. AI- bert IPearl, for a ninety- nine year period. Esti- nmates of' land vailes ii the- block rangze f-oi S40,000.00 to SI mîil- lion. whiîci is consid- ered excessive by ex- perts. Thîe building il- self once conîpleted would comprise ia tbree- storey office and coin- miercial conîplex with a nall at street level). Buit Wilcox clainlis that not 01nlY wiil the plan crate an effect of inharmiony but that the stated figure of S40,000 iii redevelopmnent pl-an and background niaterial app)ears to be exagger- ated over wbat is the normal cost of redev- Clopinîent, and says al dloser examînation of' these costs would prob- ably reveal a différent picture. "One can sec here the attemipts to sal- vage and retrack old, hialf-baked ideas to solve present problemis in tbe nai-ne of exped- iency - and this will NOT benefit the people of Wbitby." lie says. "At a previous nîcet- ingý of tbe downtown action conînîittee, att- empts were nmade to bring fortb another old sclbenîe for apartnîents on vacant land soutb of thie Texaco station. This sleenie p)resented higbi densities witbi very lit- tde anienities aind was tLlrned clown - a very wise decision." "BuIt Wbah ever hap- pened to the proposed study of the enhire core to be undertaken by the town planning director whicb xvas to commiience after the meeting, and wlien are we yoinc, to practically consi(ler al and not just one q uar- ter of the ap)ple core' lie asks. InIibis estinmat ion, "we cati 'no longer afford to. allow pr«jects ini isola- tionýsilice tbiey affect all aspects of'the Commun- ity a'nd its inliabitants. S'(RY (C)NTI N UES l'AG E 2 to r- 300 High Street has been ordered ciosed and sealed off immediately for public safety. Ti Bý FR EE Pl RýjE ss 100