A creeping trend of demolition is afoot

Think of the consequences: the rippling vibrations through your walls, the ground rumbling beneath you, and the fear that your old stone foundation will be dislodged.

Apart from the devastating impact of heavy machinery pounding the ground, demolitions are processes that unsettle and release toxic materials that you would sooner leave undisturbed. Asbestos is one such culprit. The average resident may live in a home with residues of this material, or may be exposed to its dispersal should a demolition be improperly managed. Despite the precautions taken to ensure the safe removal of asbestos, it is difficult to believe that the process is airtight. Rare is the development that is not hurried along by a financially defined schedule. Rare is the development that secures the necessary measures to monitor every toxic particle released into the atmosphere.

In Westmount, structurally sound houses are being supplanted by modern buildings on the pretext that new architectural designs will introduce harmony to a checkered streetscape. But the new models are aesthetically at odds with the predominantly Victorian look that prevails in the city. Yet architects define them for us as “superior” alternatives to the houses poised for demolition. All the while, the true impact of razing a house to the ground is obscured in dense, bureaucratic language. The reality is this: demolitions engender pollution and trauma, leaving in their wake a scarred environment and indignant residents.

It has been argued that some of the new constructions burgeoning in Westmount will restore financial vigour to the City, given its demerger debts. City Hall, it would appear, sees the process of revamping architecture as a profitable investment, indeed, more profitable than the conservation of trees, green space, and the preservation of sound brick and mortar. Dwellings are being condemned for their “imperfect” aesthetics, not for their structural inadequacy. One-hundred-year-old trees are being cut down to make room for massive houses whose heating bills in this era of global warming will be exorbitant and a sure tax on the environment. Cutting down trees for bigger real estate developments may bring in more dollars for some, but for most of us, such ventures, along with the fallout of demolitions, will be costly and painful.

Next time you read a notice for a demolition in your area, don’t turn your eyes away. Think of the consequences and make your concerns heard at City Hall. You never know, you might be the next victim on the block.



• Michelle Weinroth is the concerned daughter of Jeanette Weinroth, who is currently facing a possible demolition next to her Victorian house on Côte St. Antoine Road.