Fort Smith (May 08/06) - The end may be near for the Pinecrest Hotel in Fort Smith.

The NWT fire marshal's deadline for the owners to demolish the large building was up yesterday, May 7.

On Thursday, Bruce Gordier, one of three Fort Smith residents who had been running the 50-year-old building, said he expects the downtown landmark will be demolished.

"I'm giving up," Gordier said, adding he feels harassed by the whole process and plans to move to Ontario.

On April 7, fire marshal Bernie Van Tighem ordered the hotel - which he closed on Dec. 2 because of fire hazards - be boarded up and banned from entering. He also ordered the building to be torn down within a month, although he left open the possibility that it could still be repaired.

Gordier said the fire marshal's office was unwilling to wait for funding to be found for the work. "They wanted $400,000 worth of work completed immediately."

On Thursday, Van Tighem said he had not heard anything from the operators or owners about their plans for the building.

"My plan is to call them on Monday and find out what their plans are," Van Tighem said.

The fire marshal closed the building in December for a number of reasons, including concerns over the alarm and sprinkler systems, missing stairs and blocked exits, and improper storage of combustible materials.

If the building is not torn down according to the April 7 order, Van Tighem can arrange to have it removed under the Fire Prevention Act and try to recover costs. Or, he can turn it over to the Town of Fort Smith for removal, and the municipality can try to recover costs through taxation.

Gordier and his business partners - his wife Loretta and Armando Berton - had been attempting to buy the building since January of last year.

"We've backed down now," he said.

Gordier added he and his partners, along with building owner Gordon Schacher of Alberta, are considering legal action over the forced closure of the building.

Schacher could not be reached for comment.

Gordier said he and his wife have invested about $100,000 into the building, while Berton has invested about $20,000.

They had planned to convert the hotel into 21 low-cost housing units and a nine-room homeless shelter.

When the hotel was closed in December, about 30 long-time residents were forced to find other accommodations.