Demolition of Vancouvers dilapidated Dunsmuir Hotel underway – BC [Video]

Work began Saturday to demolish a more than a century-old building in downtown Vancouver, condemned because its dilapidated condition had become a threat to public safety.

Vancouver city council ordered the demolition of the building at 500 Dunsmuir Street in December 2024 after an inspector found that a lack of maintenance had led to leakage from the roof and severe rot throughout the building.

The ground floor in the southeast corner had also collapsed, raising concerns of catastrophic structural failure. City councillors had asked engineers to try and save heritage features, but staff determined doing so would have taken over a year, an amount of time that was not safe to wait.

“Unfortunately, we can’t save anything,” Vancouver chief building official Saul Schewbs said Saturday morning.

“We will get it down safely and I will be happy that the risk to the public has been mitigated, but the fact that we are losing this building today …