January 2015 - Page 210 of 508 - Home Builder Developer, Interior Renovation and Design Home Builder Developer, Interior Renovation and Design

DEMOLITION DERBY | Dont Starve Together (World #4) | Ep.12
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DEMOLITION DERBY | Dont Starve Together (World #4) | Ep.12 - Video

With the crack of metal against wood, and a rumble that briefly shook the sidewalk, the ornate molding that pointed skyward from the roof of the Louis Street house disappeared Tuesday morning into the jaws of an excavator's bucket. Within an hour, most of the building was on the street in a pile of bricks and debris, soon to be hauled away.

The long-vacant house at 1510 Louis in Camden's Whitman Park neighborhood, one of many that officials say have harbored crime over the years, was gone by Tuesday afternoon. In the coming months, close to 600 such buildings are to crumble to the ground, demolition that city officials hope will clear the way for community gardens, affordable housing, and other development.

"This is the time our residents and our children will begin to enjoy their safer and more vibrant neighborhoods," said Mayor Dana Redd, one of the local and state officials who gathered Tuesday to announce the launch of the city's long-awaited demolition project. "We are not done here."

When Redd was elected in 2009, she vowed to attack city blight. Now, she and other city leaders are working to secure federal funding that could help residents become homeowners, and encourage development so that the demolition sites won't stay empty.

"The next step is to envision what these spaces could be," she said.

For decades, Camden residents have lived among a growing number of buildings that are empty and in disrepair, often abandoned by owners who walked away or stopped paying taxes. A survey last year by the nonprofit group CamConnect and the Camden Community Development Association found that close to 15 percent of the nine-square-mile city's structures were vacant, and about 37 percent of the city's land could be considered empty if 8,000-odd vacant lots are included.

The demolitions will target what Camden officials call "the worst of the worst," first tearing down 62 buildings with funding from a federal grant.

The second phase of the project, the $8 million destruction of the rest of the structures on the list, will be financed by a bond to be paid off with revenue from a tax on city parking lots. There has been no start date set for that phase, but city officials said they hoped to finish within 18 months.

Many of the buildings set to be destroyed are in Whitman Park, known as one of Camden's roughest neighborhoods, where police say dealers have used boarded-up houses as storage for drugs and weapons. The 1500 block of Louis has been the scene of shootings and police raids in recent years.

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Demolition begins in attack on Camden blight

The historic Chautauqua Amphitheater has been granted a reprieve from the wrecking ball for at least a year.

Critics opposed to a demolition that was to have begun this fall sought more transparency from Chautauqua Institution officials. They wanted the entire institution community to weigh in on the sites future, and to have government preservation officials given a chance to consult on the future of the National Historic Landmark.

On Tuesday, Chautauqua Institution officials agreed to all three requests, saying they will put off a decision on the Amphitheaters future including whether to build a replica of the 1893 outdoor theater in its place until a board of trustees meeting in August.

Opening the door to a more inclusive and sincere dialogue with all stakeholders is exactly the right thing for Chautauqua Institution to do, said Brian Berg, a longtime Chautauqua resident and a leader of the ad hoc Committee to Preserve the Historic Amphitheater, which had collected more than 2,100 online signatures on a petition to save the Amp.

This dialogue will spark new ideas and elicit the best thinking, and the end result will be an improved Amphitheater with its historic character and integrity intact, Berg said.

This strikes me as a great decision, said Jonathan Eig, who has taught and spoken at the institution on several occasions, and is the author of Birth of the Pill and The Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig.

I think everyone is on the same side in this debate, in that they want the Chautauqua Institution to remain the wonderful place that it is, and that means preserving history as well as making the place great for future generations. This is a good first step.

The privately run sanctuary for learning and contemplation was under increased criticism even as it was preparing to issue construction bids as early as this month, with the start of demolition planned for September following the conclusion of the 2015 season.

Thomas M. Becker, Chautauquas president, said the institution will renew discussions with the community this summer on how to proceed, and consult with a preservation expert from the U.S. Department of the Interior, which promulgates standards for National Historic Landmarks.

Following a detailed review of the project to date, it is clear from the public and private communications going back and forth between the institution and various members of the Chautauqua community that meaningful re-engagement of our various constituencies especially those who are so passionate in their views, both positive or critical, about the Amp and its future should occur, especially during the summer season and before we move forward, Becker said in a statement.

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Amphitheater demolition reconsidered

Traffic flows smoothly on I-75 southbound after it re-opened on night of January 20, 2015; it was closed the night before following the collapse of an overpass that was being demolished; one person died WKRC-TV

CINCINNATI -- A highway where an overpass collapse during demolition work left one worker dead and a tractor-trailer driver injured was cleared of concrete and steel on Tuesday and reopened, but police were left wondering what the casualty toll might have been had the accident occurred amid heavy traffic.

The removal of tons of debris from Interstate 75 began Tuesday afternoon and was completed by nighttime, allowing the closed southbound lanes to reopen to traffic. Minor repairs were made, the state Department of Transportation said.

An Ohio Dept. of Transportation spokesperson told CBS Cincinnati affiliate WKRC-TV Tuesday night that I-75 South reopened more quickly than anticipated. It was initially thought the interstate would be closed through Thursday. But the debris cleanup went more quickly than expected.

Casualties could have been much higher had the late-night collapse happened at a busy time on the interstate, which carries more than 178,000 vehicles a day through the area five miles north of the Ohio River, Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell said.

Authorities identified the worker who was killed as Brandon William Carl, of Augusta, Kentucky. Fire officials said his body was recovered from rubble with the help of air bags and special equipment early Tuesday morning, about four hours after the accident.

The tractor-trailer driver, Eric J. Meyers, of Howell, Michigan, slammed into the overpass as the debris landed. He was taken to a hospital with what were described as minor injuries.

A caller to the emergency dispatcher, Greg Turner, identified himself as an employee of the construction company at the site and said he witnessed the bridge collapse.

"We were taking the bridge down - it just collapsed," Turner said, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.

The call was made just after 10:30 p.m. Monday, and police responded to the scene reporting a "major" collapse minutes later.

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Deadly overpass collapse: Ohio highway reopens