Canada Malting plant could collapse at any moment, engineering report says

According to an engineering firm's report, the Canada Malting plant in Montreal's Sud-Ouest borough could collapse at any moment. The report states “controlled demolition is the only possible, safe and rational solution to eliminate the critical danger that this building represents.”

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.

The Canada Malting company site along the Lachine Canal in St-Henri was built in 1902. It was sold in 1980 and has been abandoned for 30 years. (Elias Abboud/CBC)

The Canada Malting plant, which looms over Montreal’s Sud-Ouest borough and is notably home to the mysterious “pink house,” could collapse at any moment, according to a new engineering report.

The report says the structure — a mass of brick and concrete silos towering over the Lachine Canal to its south and St-Ambroise Street to its north — represents an “imminent danger” to public safety.

“Controlled demolition is the only possible, safe and rational solution to eliminate the critical danger that this building represents,” wrote the report’s author, André Houle from the engineering firm STP ING inc.

Copyright for this text belongs to CBC.