Demolition to begin at Station Squares east warehouse

Last call has arrived for Station Squares east warehouse.

By Monday, it will be heavy equipment, not pulsating dance music, rattling the rafters at the longtime night spot that at one time or another housed the likes of Whim, Hooters, Saddle Ridge, Matrix, the Pittsburgh Sports Garden, Woodsons All-Star Grille and Margarita Mamas.

Station Square owner Forest City Enterprise is demolishing the old red brick building as part of a plan to eventually add residential housing to the east side of its complex, now used almost exclusively for parking.

The Whim night club tried to block the demolition this spring, claiming the developer improperly terminated its lease. But Allegheny County Common Pleas Senior Judge Joseph James sided with Forest City, clearing the way for the razing.

Forest City had hoped to have the demolition completed by Sept. 1. But spokesman Jeff Linton said the company ran into delays. By the time the court battle with Whim ended, the bids for the razing had expired and Forest City was forced to get new ones. It also had to find a way to run temporary electrical hook-ups to the area.

These are just normal delays due to issues beyond our control, he said.

The demolition is now scheduled to start Monday, although Tim Schaaf, president of Schaaf Inc., the contractor, said work could begin this weekend.

He expects the razing to take four to six weeks., though Mr. Linton said it could run until mid-November. The east warehouse will not go out with a blast like Three Rivers Stadium. Instead, Schaaf will use heavy equipment such as excavators to tear down the building.

Mr. Schaaf, who was at the site Thursday, said there is nothing particularly challenging about the job. Its standard, he said, adding all asbestos and hazardous material had been removed in years past.

Schaaf is no stranger to the work. It has handled a number of demolitions in the past, including Showcase Cinemas West in Robinson, now the site of a car dealership.

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Demolition to begin at Station Squares east warehouse