A crumbling downtown landmark just may stay that way — indefinitely.

London developer Vito Frjia says he’s considering shelving his plans for a $40-million highrise at 183 King St. and withdrawing his appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) over the project.

Instead, he may do nothing.

“I am at the point now that I just won’t do anything there — we may just leave it. I may not even go to the OMB. I thought I was doing the city a favour tearing down a derelict building,” said the frustrated-sounding Frijia.

“But if they want it there, I will just leave it. I can afford to just leave it.”

Frijia, president of Southside Group, approached the city in June 2015 asking for a demolition permit for the stately old building, a former 19th-century hotel, held up now by steel girders propping up one wall.

He submitted a report from an engineering firm saying the building that dates to the late 1800s should be demolished.

But city council’s planning and environment committee refused the request, and countered by declaring anything built on the site has to resemble the existing building.

Frijia has appealed both matters to the OMB.

An adjacent building, at 181 King St., is now being torn down and Frijia received approval last month to tear down much of the rear of 183 King St., since it’s an addition not worth preserving.

“I have a demolition permit for 80 per cent of the building,” he said.

However, he’s still stymied by having to keep the original structure.

“We told them the building is unsafe, it will fall down and hurt people but they refused our permit, they refused to look at our engineering report. I am frustrated.”

But Frijia has been told by city staff and politicians to come back to the city with a proposal for development that incorporates heritage elements of the structure, and he’s ignored that advice, said Coun. Paul Hubert, who chaired the planning committee when the issue came to the city.

“Vito could bring a development that has everything he wants and have heritage elements there, he could integrate them into his new development,” said Hubert.

He pointed to the recent council approval of a multi-highrise development by Rygar Properties Inc. on the Camden Terrace site, home to Victorian row housing that’s coming down but elements of which will be incorporated into the new project.

“There is still time. This council has not been an ideologically bound, it is practical,” Hubert said.

“We would welcome an innovative, progressive development proposal that would recognize heritage features of the building.”

Janette MacDonald, director of Downtown London, said she doubts Frijia will leave the building to crumble, calling him a city builder.

“I don’t think he will do it. He is a very smart man and there is a tremendous opportunity with that site. I am sure this will get done,” said MacDonald.

Downtown is a heritage conservation district, meaning that a when a building is bought it can be a challenge to develop, but not insurmountable, she added.

But a development proposal is costly, takes time and isn’t not needed for a demolition permit, Frijia counters.

”Why do they need to see a proposal when the owner tells them it is unsafe? Do you need a proposal to deal with demolition?” he asked.

A date hasn’t been set for the OMB hearing about 183 King St.

Alan Patton, a development lawyer working with Frijia, said he questions why the city is holding up a much-needed highrise development downtown to fight for a building that an engineering report has said is unsafe and cannot be saved.

“We know it is structurally unsound, it has massive girders holding up the east wall,” said Patton,.

“Great cities of the world are built, torn down and rebuilt again. They have to revitalize themselves all the time. There seems to be a reluctance to do that here,” he said.

ndebono@postmedia.com