Exterior wall of St-Henri triplex collapses, leaving gaping hole in side

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The exterior wall of a triplex in St-Henri collapsed onto an adjacent construction site Monday afternoon, exposing the inside of the apartments much like a dollhouse.

The Montreal fire department received a call about the collapse on Cazelais St., just below the Ville-Marie expressway, a little after 1:30 p.m.

“Luckily, no one was injured or worse, killed,” said division Chief George Bele. He added that neighbouring buildings were evacuated as a preventive measure.

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The collapse occurred beside a large hole that had been dug out in the lot to the west, which as of Tuesday remained full of debris that came down from the apartments.

“The question I have gotten a lot is why the construction, and that, I have no idea,” Bele said. “All we know is there was construction, and that the building partially collapsed toward the former parking lot, where there was construction.”

According to a post on Agora Montréal, a discussion forum on urban development in the city, a construction permit for a three-storey, five-unit building on the neighbouring lot was issued just a week before the collapse occurred.

Google street view shows there had been a neighbouring building there years ago, before the revamp of the Ville-Marie expressway.

The building that collapsed, meanwhile, is currently listed for sale for just under $1.3 million. The listing says the building was constructed in 1910 and comprises three apartments, including two 4 1/2s and one 5 1/2. It says the ground-floor unit was renovated in 2021 and the third-floor apartment, in the spring of 2023.

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Lorraine Muller was visiting a friend who lives across the street from the building for lunch when the collapse occurred. There was nothing out of the ordinary when she first arrived at about 1:20 p.m., she said.

“We were in the back of her apartment and we sort of heard something, but there’s a lot of construction and a lot of trucks go by in the area because it’s right near the highway,” Muller said. “We didn’t really think anything of it and all of a sudden I realized, there’s a lot of chatter going on outside.”

When they looked out the front window, they noticed several people on the street.

“We went outside and there it was: The whole wall had collapsed,” Muller said.

She added that it seemed like perhaps the hole in the neighbouring lot had been dug too close to the existing unit.

“You can see, it’s super close to where that supporting wall was,” she said. “I feel like they just hit a bad spot.”

Bele said the file was transferred to the city of Montreal’s inspection team. The city did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication on Tuesday.

kthomas@postmedia.com

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