Part of the Canada Malting plant is coming down. Some worry about what’s going to be saved

A part of this famous Southwest structure is being demolished after engineers found that the landmark is at risk of collapsing. You might know the old Canada Malting facility best for the little pink house that sits at the top. The structure was built in 1905 and was once used to store and process barley. It's been abandoned for years. It's really one of the symbols of this heyday period, I would say, in Sayahi. The Southwest Borough has given the owners permission to demolish a part of the structure after an engineer's report found it presented an imminent danger to public safety. For now, the only thing being demolished is this brick facade. But the poor state of the entire structure has some in the neighborhood worried about how much will actually be saved. I don't think it should have gotten to this point. I think it should still be in consideration that they keep the pink house and they try and keep as much of the heritage as they can. But, I mean, old things do fall down. Heritage Montreal says it's a common fate for the city's historical buildings. It says officials don't do enough to enforce rules, which oblige owners to maintain and repair their properties. It's a big problem, especially when it's been a long time that the building has been empty. So, like, who wants to pay for the older owner's responsibility that he didn't take? And now, like, there's a lack of maintenance for 30 years. Who's going to pay for that lack of maintenance? Nobody wants to. Neither the Sudwest Borough nor the City of Montreal responded to that criticism. But the city does say it plans to work with the owners of the malting plant who want to redevelop the site. The owners are waiting on borough approval to turn the landmark into a 700-unit apartment complex, though the city says maintaining the plant's heritage and history must be a priority.