Listen to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Police, members of the fire department, paramedics and property managers descended on a high-profile apartment building on Brazil Street in downtown St. John’s Thursday morning as tenants received notice the building is being prepared to shut down.
Plainclothes and uniformed officers with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary entered the building before 10:30 a.m.
One resident told CBC News he found out this morning he would have to prepare to leave within 24 hours. Another person, who has lived in the building for more than three decades, said there have been issues with vagrancy, drug use and garbage.
James Whelan has lived in the building for six years, and said safety conditions have worsened over the last couple of years.
“I’m dying to get out of there,” Whelan said. “I’m looking to get a place but I don’t have $1,200 a month.”
According to the order to evacuate issued by the City of St. John’s, the apartment building is “unfit for habitation.”
“Council has judged the house at 91 Brazil St. to be a health and life safety hazard, thus constituting a nuisance,” the order states.
WATCH | ’I’m dying to get out of there,’ tenant says:
St. John’s apartment building — the site of years of police calls — ordered to close
Residents at Harbourview apartments on Brazil Street in St. John’s have been ordered to get out, with a municipal order deeming it “unfit.” The CBC’s Ariana Kelland was on scene.
A support person was on site to help people find housing, and assure them everyone would be taken care of before Friday.
An emailed statement sent to CBC News from Cogir, the company that manages the apartment building, says it is working “to restore the property for the community of St. John’s.”
“Cogir and the property owner take the safety and well-being of residents, staff and the surrounding community very seriously … We will provide updates as work progresses and look forward to welcoming tenants back to a much improved and safe community in the near future,” the company stated.
It is not clear when the required work or approvals will be completed so residents can move back in.
Notices were posted on the doors of 91 Brazil St. on Thursday informing residents that the City of St. John’s is shutting down the building. (Ariana Kelland/CBC)
Warnings ‘weren’t adhered to,’ mayor says
Mayor Danny Breen said it’s too early to say if the property owner will be fined under the City of St. John’s Act.
Breen said city inspectors went to the apartment building last week and found they couldn’t leave the building open “because of concern for public safety.”
He did not specify what the concerns are.
Breen said the city provided warnings to the property owner last week and the “warnings weren’t adhered to.”
“I can say the property owners and property managers have been co-operating very well with the city in terms of how to address these issues and they will take the necessary steps,” Breen said in an interview Thursday afternoon.
“When we get to the point where there is life safety concerns, our staff will take appropriate action.”
Discarded furniture is shown outside 91 Brazil St. on Thursday, Oct. 8. The City of St. John’s has issued an order shutting the building down. (Ariana Kelland/CBC)
Address well-known to police
The building has been the site of multiple serious police investigations over the years.
It was where the body of Marcel Reardon was found in May 2016, near the back of the building’s stairwell. Anne Norris was charged with first-degree murder, but a jury found her not criminally responsible in 2018.
Police have also responded to calls of shots fired, and reports that have resulted in weapons offences and standoffs that led to lockdowns in the neighbourhood.
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.