A new report submitted to the City of Hamilton’s General Issues Committee states that the city’s Chief Building Official has submitted a formal complaint to Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) after the partial collapse of two buildings back on Nov. 11, 2024.
The collapse occurred at approximately 6:45 a.m. in an area that is often busy with events and foot traffic.
The report says that, in January 2025, the City of Hamilton Building Division retained an engineering consulting firm to provide an analysis of the causes of the collapse of 24 and 28 King Street East.
The consultant reportedly concluded that the Engineer of Record retained by the property owner of the buildings “failed to satisfy their professional obligation to adequately report the critical condition of the building to the appropriate authority, namely the City of Hamilton Building Division and the Chief Building Officer.”
In regard to the Gore Park buildings, the city’s report also identified “multiple contributing causes” that led to the partial collapse.
The first contributing cause is listed as the “deterioration of the buildings caused by a failure to maintain the properties by the property owner.”
Second, staff acknowledge that there was “inadequate enforcement of municipal by-laws” by the city, “including insufficient frequency and escalation of enforcement actions to achieve minimum standards.”
Third, staff also acknowledge “systemic communication gaps between internal divisions” of the city “that resulted in enforcement delays.”
The buildings at 18 to 28 King Street East were all vacant and subject to potential redevelopment for approximately 10 years
After the collapse of 24 and 28 King Street East, the ruins and connecting buildings were demolished.
The structures were built in the 1800s.
Following the incident, the city created a cross-departmental working group “to prioritize enforcement of high-risk vacant buildings.”
A vacant building blitz of high-priority heritage properties then took place and was initiated in April 2025.
As a result of the blitz, 28 properties were investigated, 353 violations were identified, 57 Property Standards Orders were issued, and over $20,000 in fees and fines were issued.
The city is also reportedly working to improve communications between internal divisions and departments, including joint inspections and on-site collaboration, increased data and information sharing, and coordinated enforcement strategies.
Consultation was also undertaken with the Hamilton Municipal Heritage Committee, and policies and procedures were reviewed and updated.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
