A landlord directed three times by the city to address problems with its vacant and degrading Exchange District building has been ordered to pay nearly $500,000 to a neighbouring eatery that was forced to close.

Miss Browns Hot Press Sandwich and Coffee Corp. — a shuttered shop once at 288 William Ave. — had its lawyer, Peter Halamandaris, file a lawsuit against Bedford Investments in 2021.

The suit argued the landlord’s negligence and misconduct in allowing its directly adjacent and long-vacant property at 284 William Ave., to fall derelict and dangerous constituted a breach of its lease.

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press A Winnipeg landlord failed to fix problems with 284 and 288 William Ave., which remain vacant. Sho Coffee & Bar at 290 William Ave. is open.

In 2014, Jenny and Steve Tyrell “pursued their dreams” of opening a restaurant and signed a lease with Bedford for 288 William Ave., across from the old Public Safety Building, said Court of King’s Bench Justice Ken Champagne in a decision late last month.

“I have concluded the defendants breached the terms of the commercial lease that resulted in Miss Browns being ordered to vacate the premises, effectively ending their business,” Champagne said.

He awarded Miss Browns $492,040, plus court costs and interest.

The shop opened in 2015 after the couple spent their time and about $100,000 from their savings to ready the space for a restaurant, said the judge. In 2019, the couple opened a satellite location at the Hargrave Street Market.

The couple were forced to vacate William Avenue by order of the city in January 2021 after the building was left in hazardous and unsafe conditions, which they claimed was due to Bedford’s negligence and wilful misconduct in failing to repair both 288 and 284 William Ave.

Bedford’s lawyers, Kevin Williams and Matthew Nordlund, argued the company was not negligent and tried to address their tenant’s concerns.

While Champagne found Bedford made efforts to assess issues with the two properties, it took little action to address them.

Bedford, which has owned and rented out several commercial properties in the Exchange District for decades, purchased 284 William Ave. in 1988 and sold the property for $25,000 in March 2021 after Miss Browns was forced to vacate 288 William Ave.

Bedford was run by Harry Weiss until shortly before his death in 2023. His son, Alan Weiss, took over as director. Property manager Judy Hansen, a longtime employee, was a witness in court.

The last time 284 William Ave. had a tenant was 2007, when it fell into disrepair, said Champagne. Bedford said the property was a “money pit” and made more financial sense to leave it empty than fix it.

“Common sense and experience tells us that the condition of vacant buildings is not static. Without proper attention, they will continue to deteriorate over time,” said Champagne.

The two buildings share a common west wall and Champagne described the properties as “joined at the hip.”

“284 William is a 100-year-old building that had significant structural issues,” said the judge. “Bedford knew structural issues at 284 William could and did impact the structure and safety of 288 William.”

The City of Winnipeg issued an order in December 2014, saying Bedford was violating the vacant building bylaw because of a leaky roof and a mud floor in the basement of 284 William.

It’s unclear whether the landlord fully complied, though there may have been some work on the roof.

The city again inspected 284 William in January 2018 and found combustible materials piled in the building and extensive cracks in the west wall shared with 288 William Ave.

Municipal officials issued an order to fix the problems — but Bedford never addressed the structural issues with the wall, which Champagne called “beyond negligent” and “wilful misconduct.”

288 William Ave. also began having issues in early 2018, including a roof leak and structural problems.

Little was done to address the problems, though Bedford had discussions with contractors and engineers, with an engineer warning of potential catastrophic failure in December 2020.

The city issued its third compliance order to mitigate the unsafe conditions — and the order to vacate the property on Jan. 22, 2021, said Champagne.

Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Garry-Fort Rouge), a former chair of the property and development committee, said the court decision highlights the difficulties the city faces in dealing with Winnipeg’s scourge of derelict and vacant buildings.

She said, speaking generally, landlords will sometimes engage various departments to avoid following through on orders to fix buildings.

“One vacant and derelict building is multiple files on your desk — and this case does highlight the complexities and resistance that I and the city face as policy actors, and where individuals have to go when they’ve raised concerns,” she said.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca