Kitchener councillors voted Thursday to strip the Mayfair Hotel of its heritage protections, bringing its demolition one step closer.

A demolition order for the historic hotel was issued last week, after engineers found serious concerns for the downtown structure’s safety.

The building was deemed unsafe, and reinforced with scaffolding.

A portion of Young Street adjacent to the 110-year-old hotel was closed as a precaution.

Although the structure was not part of the city’s heritage register, it was in the midst of the process that would see it end up there.

For demolition to proceed, city councillors would have to officially withdraw their intent to designate the building as a heritage property – which is what they did Thursday, after more than three hours of debate.

“If we were to try and go in and save the Mayfair, we would be putting a person’s life at risk, or many peoples’ lives at risk,” Coun. Sarah Marsh said.

“That’s not an option.”

The building’s owner, Bernie Nimer, said he plans to develop something on the property after demolition wraps up, although he said it was “premature” to speculate about details.

“I’m sure they’ll be proud of what I put there,” he said.

A demolition permit is expected to be ordered Monday.

The exact timetable for the actual demolition remains in limbo.