Neighbours relieved as notorious Timmins building demolished

Neighbours of a multi-unit apartment building turned drug house in Timmins said they were happy to see it demolished Monday.

Residents said the location of it has led to increased crime in the area and hardship for them.

An excavator was on scene at the apartment building, located across from the Living Space Homeless Shelter in Timmins.

The city ordered it to be demolished, with the bill going to the property owner.

Neighbours who didn’t want to appear on camera told CTV News they feel a weight’s been lifted off their shoulders.

Andre Gagnon, a business owner in the area who administers the Voices of Timmins Facebook page, said the location for the vacant property attracted people who use drugs.

“They give the people that live in this neighborhood a hard time, no privacy,” Gagnon said.

“So it's time it comes down. There's a lot of people that are happy here.”

Sources told CTV that, due to its location, it became difficult to find suitable tenants and the apartments became unrentable.

An excavator was on the scene July 22 at the Kimberly Avenue building, located across from the Living Space Homeless Shelter in Timmins. (Photo from video)

While people told us they are glad to see it come down, they are concerned for what’s in store and think the only solution is to relocate the shelter.

Gagnon agreed.

“There's rapes, there's stabbings,” he said.

“The police are here all the time. So are the ambulances. And then they say to us, I know they don't give us numbers. They say, No, we don't have that stuff. We see it daily because we live here. We talk to these people that are mentally challenged, homeless and the addicts tell us. So that's what's going on around here. It's wrong, it's sad.”

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He said what the affected people need are proper services in a proper area.

“They need to put it on the outskirts of town with the right amenities, bring the services to them.”

The City of Timmins said it was unable to provide a comment and the property owners did not respond to an interview request.

Now that the building is gone, people in the neighbourhood hope a fence will be put up on the vacant land to prevent future issues from occurring.