Argyle demolition under way

By JOY BROWN

STAFF WRITER

Demolition of the Argyle apartment building began Thursday, two weeks after a fire made it structurally unsound.

Organized by general contractor Charles Construction Services of Findlay, crews began using aerial equipment to start tearing down the four-story downtown building. Work had been delayed Wednesday by high winds.

Findlay Service-Safety Director Paul Schmelzer said demolition and subsequent containment of debris will take about a week. The 500 block of South Main Street then can be reopened.

Razing is expected to be done carefully to protect adjacent buildings, particularly one that houses the Wine Merchant. Those two buildings share a common wall, Schmelzer said.

Picking apart most of the Argyle building in relatively small pieces is also necessary for asbestos containment. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has deemed the whole building contaminated because some of the building materials, containing asbestos, caught fire. The asbestos became "friable" or broke into pieces, investigators determined, which enabled the fibers to become airborne and travel to other areas of the building.

Asbestos cleanup at a demolition project typically requires spraying water to ensure containment, and bagging debris in plastic. The materials are then hauled to state-approved landfills that can dispose of them properly.

"The whole building is a hazardous waste product that has to get abated," Schmelzer said. Asbestos handling alone will cost $1 million, he said.

Demolition of the front of the Argyle can be viewed live at http://www.livestream.com/argylebuilding, thanks to TCM Architects, which placed a camera on the Blackford Building across the street.

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Argyle demolition under way