St. Paul: Demolition for Lowertown ballpark to resume

Demolition at the site of the planned Lowertown ballpark is slated to continue after a subcontractor completed a review into its plan for razing the Diamond Products/Gillette building in downtown St. Paul.

The death of a worker at the site Sept. 10 halted the project and triggered the review.

Rachel Contracting, the demolition subcontractor for Ryan Cos. on the ballpark project, handled the review.

"The findings conclude that the current approach is the best way to demolish the remaining structure," said Collin Barr, a president at Ryan Cos.

Ryan Cos. and the city of St. Paul will review the findings and the demolition plan before the remaining demolition work resumes.

Johnny Valek, 61, of Plymouth, a worker for Rachel Contracting, was killed when a section of concrete collapsed on the backhoe he was operating.

Ryan Cos. has said the demolition delay will not affect the construction schedule. The minor league St. Paul Saints baseball team hopes to be in the new $63 million, 7,000-seat stadium for the 2015 season.

Mila Koumpilova can be reached at 651-228-2171. Follow her at twitter.com/MilaPiPress.

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St. Paul: Demolition for Lowertown ballpark to resume