Montreal Building Collapse Leaves Residents in Crisis
Imagine coming home after a long day, only to find your living room in shambles—your window shattered, bricks scattered across your sofa, and a gaping hole where your wall once stood. This is the shocking reality that residents of an apartment building in Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal district are now facing after a neighboring building partially collapsed.
It all started on Monday afternoon when residents heard a loud, terrifying crash. Amanda Solomon, one of the tenants, recalls how a deep rumble shook her apartment. Looking out her window, she saw part of the adjacent building’s wall crumble right in front of their entrance. Panic spread among the residents as they feared more of the structure might give way.
Jessica Degarra, another tenant, described the scene as "truly frightening." The structural failure left the neighboring building severely damaged, forcing an emergency evacuation. Among the affected residents is Mikaela Germani, whose apartment suffered extensive damage. She wasn’t home at the time, but when she returned, she was met with a heartbreaking sight: a massive hole in her wall, debris covering her furniture, and her home rendered uninhabitable. "Had I been inside, or had someone been near the entrance, the consequences could have been devastating," she said.
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The building in question, located at 5990 Avenue du Parc, had been showing signs of severe deterioration for years. Complaints had been made to the city about its dangerous condition, with tenants noting bulging walls, falling bricks, and sagging windows. The situation had reached a critical point earlier this year, prompting fire department inspectors to assess the property on the very day it collapsed.
The owner of the collapsed building, Daniel Lalonde, had filed for a demolition permit in May 2023 but failed to follow through when the city requested additional documents. By June 2024, he had completely stopped responding to municipal authorities. As a result, the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough had to take matters into its own hands, securing the site and issuing an emergency demolition order. Unfortunately, these measures came too late to prevent disaster.
Norm Gordon, the landlord of the evacuated building, is frustrated by the city’s inaction. "This could have been avoided. Inspectors knew about the problem for years, yet nothing was done in time. Now, my tenants are homeless," he lamented.
The borough insists it made considerable efforts to urge Lalonde to take responsibility, even placing a legal mortgage of nearly $100,000 on the property to recover safety-related expenses. Still, this did little to accelerate the demolition process.
Meanwhile, the displaced tenants remain in limbo. Initially told their evacuation would last only two days, they now fear it could stretch for weeks or even months. "We have no idea when we can return," said Amanda Solomon. "It’s beyond frustrating not knowing what’s next."
The collapse has raised pressing questions about building maintenance regulations and the accountability of landlords. With a growing number of aging buildings in Montreal, many are now asking: How many more warnings will be ignored before another catastrophe strikes?
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