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It's a final blow to one of the most powerful telescopes on Earth that has aided astronomical discoveries for 57 years and withstood hurricanes, earthquakes and tropical storms.

Engineers assessed the damage and determined that all three of the telescope's support towers broke off, sending the 900-ton instrument platform plummeting down to the dish below. The telescope's support cables also dropped. The observatory's learning center was significantly damaged by the falling cables as well.

The collapse occurred just weeks after NSF announced that the telescope would be decommissioned and disassembled through a controlled demolition after sustaining irreparable damage earlier this year.

"The instrument platform of the 305m telescope at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico fell overnight. No injuries were reported. NSF is working with stakeholders to assess the situation. Our top priority is maintaining safety. NSF will release more details when they are confirmed," according to a tweet by the National Science Foundation.

"NSF is saddened by this development. As we move forward, we will be looking for ways to assist the scientific community and maintain our strong relationship with the people of Puerto Rico," the foundation said in another tweet.

The spherical radio/radar telescope includes a radio dish 1,000 feet across and a 900-ton instrument platform suspended 450 feet above it. Cables connected to three towers hold the telescope in place.

"We are saddened by this situation but thankful that no one was hurt," said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan in a statement. "When engineers advised NSF that the structure was unstable and presented a danger to work teams and Arecibo staff, we took their warnings seriously and continued to emphasize the importance of safety for everyone involved. Our focus is now on assessing the damage, finding ways to restore operations at other parts of the observatory, and working to continue supporting the scientific community, and the people of Puerto Rico."

An auxiliary cable came loose from a socket on one of the towers in August, creating a 100-foot gash in the dish. Engineers were assessing and working on a plan to repair the damage when another main cable on the tower broke on November 6.

When it broke, the cable crashed into the reflector dish below, causing additional damage.

After the break on November 6, engineers inspected the rest of the cables and discovered new breaks as well as slippage from some of the sockets on the towers. Multiple engineering companies reviewed the damage. They determined that the telescope could collapse because it is "in danger of catastrophic failure" and the cables were weaker than expected.

The latest review revealed that damage to the telescope could not be stabilized without risking staff and the construction team. This led to the NSF making the decision to decommission the telescope after 57 years.

"We believe the structure will collapse in the near future if left untouched," according to a letter by engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti that assessed the observatory ahead of the decommissioning announcement on November 19. "Controlled demolition, designed with a specific collapse sequence determined and implemented with the use of explosives, will reduce the uncertainty and danger associated with collapse."

The firm also recommended that this be carried out "as soon as pragmatically possible."

Those plans were underway when the telescope collapsed.

The NSF said its priorities include safety at the site, conducting a damage assessment and containing or mitigating any environmental damage. The agency will also focus on bringing any ongoing scientific and educational support from the observatory back online.

The foundation will also ensure that Arecibo staff will be paid and make repairs to research tools, such as the roof of the Light Detection and Ranging, or LIDAR, facility and the 12-meter telescope used for radio astronomy research.

The NSF had planned to preserve as much of the observatory as it could to allow the facility to serve as a hub for research and education in the future, as well as restoring operations at the observatory. There is no word yet on how this collapse impacts those plans or if the foundation was able to migrate all of the archival data collected by the telescope to off-site servers.

Of interest is the LIDAR geospace research facility, the visitor center and the off-site Culebra facility for analyzing precipitation and cloud cover data.

A legacy of discoveries

Over the years, Arecibo Observatory has revealed new details about our planet's ionosphere, the solar system and worlds beyond it.

The telescope has supported and contributed to important discoveries in radio astronomy as well as planetary and solar system research, including gravitational waves.

The Arecibo telescope played a key role in discovering the first planet outside our solar system and has helped astronomers identify potentially hazardous asteroids en route to Earth.

Observations made by the telescope helped discover the first binary pulsar in 1974 (which led to the 1993 Nobel Prize in physics), supported NASA's Viking mission, produced the first radar maps of Venus' surface and spotted the first exoplanet in 1992.

More recently, Arecibo detected organic molecules in a distant galaxy and discovered the first repeating fast radio burst.

The observatory, which was featured in the James Bond film "GoldenEye," was completed in 1963 and has been helmed by the NSF since 1970. It is operated and managed by a team at the University of Central Florida, the Universidad Ana G. Mndez and Yang Enterprises Inc.

"Arecibo has been an incredibly productive facility for nearly 60 years," said Jonathan Lunine, the David C. Duncan professor in the physical sciences, and chair of the department of astronomy at Cornell University, in a statement after the decommissioning was announced.

The telescope was designed and constructed by Cornell.

"For the Cornell scientists and engineers who took a daring dream and realized it, for the scientists who made new discoveries with this uniquely powerful radio telescope and planetary radar, and for all the young people who were inspired to become scientists by the sight of this enormous telescope in the middle of the island of Puerto Rico, Arecibo's end is an inestimable loss."

Scientists worry about projects that were in progress using the Arecibo telescope, as well as what it means for future detections -- especially of asteroids that come near Earth.

"The planetary radar capability at Arecibo, funded by NASA's Near-Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program, has served as one of two major planetary radar capabilities. It has allowed NASA to fully characterize the precise orbits, sizes, and shapes of some NEOs passing within radar range after they are discovered by wide-field optical telescope survey projects."

But NASA's fully operational Goldstone Observatory in California will also be able to characterize these objects, "so NASA's NEO search efforts are not impacted by the planned decommissioning of Arecibo's 305m radio telescope."

Here is the original post:
Arecibo Observatory collapses ahead of planned demolition - CNN

Robert Suris and a rendering of the project

Hollywood commissioners approved the demolition of a 93-year-old building to clear a downtown site for Soleste Hollywood Boulevard, an eight-story, mixed-use development with 347 residential units.

Commissioners voted 6-1 to reject an advisory boards recommendation against demolishing the three-story building at 2001 Hollywood Boulevard, which opened in 1927 as the home of Hollywoods first bank.

The developers plans to preserve a vintage bank vault on the ground floor apparently swayed commissioners, who considered preserving the entire building, which the citys Architectural Preservation Board recommended in July.

Soleste Hollywood Boulevard would include a 233-unit building and a 114-unit building, 30,000 square feet of commercial space and 475 parking spaces. The floorplans range from studios to one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments.

The lead developers are Robert Suris, managing principal of The Estate Companies, based in South Miami, and Steven B. Berman, chief executive officer of Hollywood-based FIRM Realty.

In 2009, Berman paid $7.1 million for the 3.38-acre development site, a commercial building at 2001 Hollywood Boulevard and adjacent parking lots.

Berman signed a conditional contract to sell the site to The Estate Companies if the city approved demolition of the building, Debbie Orshefsky, an attorney for the developers, told city commissioners at their meeting Wednesday night.

City of Hollywood Records and Archives

The Estate Companies is a residential developer that markets projects under the Soleste brand. Now under construction is Soleste Grand Central, near the Brightline train station in downtown Miami. The 18-story, 60-unit multifamily tower at 218 Northwest Eighth Street is scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2021, according to the developer. The firm has completed projects in West Miami, Miami Beach, Brickell and Little Havana.

Miami-based Modis Architects designed Soleste Hollywood Boulevard in an Art Moderne style incorporating such details as steel columns, mesh railings and aluminum storefronts.

The original Neo-Classical architectural features of the bank building at 2001 Hollywood Boulevard disappeared following three major renovations in the 1940s, 1960s and 1980s, according to a city staff report. Its within the Hollywood Boulevard Historic Business District, a section of the citys central business district that was listed in 1999 on the National Register of Historic Places.

None of us would be having this conversation if the 1920s faade were there, Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy said during the city commissions five-hour discussion of the issue Wednesday night.

Levy expressed support for preserving the vault in perpetuity.

The concrete-encased vault is a vestige of the original building, which opened as the First National Bank of Hollywood. Hollywood founder Joseph Young built the three-story structure and had his office there.

The developers of Soleste Hollywood Boulevard plan to build a museum-themed restaurant that incorporates the 80-square-foot vault. Were creating an environment around that vault, Suris told the commission.

Here is the original post:
Hollywood approves downtown demolition, paving way for mixed-use apartment project - The Real Deal

Park City officials are preparing to hire a firm to demolish a series of buildings on City Hall-owned land where leaders intend to develop an arts and culture district, a step being taken even as other important decisions approach regarding what will be an especially ambitious municipal project.

There is a Dec. 10 deadline for firms to submit bids for the demolition work. Seven buildings will be razed as part of the preparation of the land for development. The demolitions are expected to begin in early 2021, depending on broader upcoming Park City Council decisions about the project. The demolitions will include the former location of Anayas Market, two storage buildings close to the former Anayas location, the former location of a car wash, the former location of a sporting-goods store, the onetime location of a health clinic and the building that currently houses the Kimball Art Center. The timeline for the demolition of the building that once housed a gas station is under consideration.

The highly visible land stretches inward from the southwest corner of the intersection of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive. City Hall acquired the 5.25 acres for $19.5 million with the intention of building an arts and culture district with the Kimball Art Center and the Utah offices of the Sundance Institute as the anchors.

The plan to develop a district remains intact, but the elected officials are scheduled to return to the topic shortly. Mayor Andy Beerman and the City Council at that time are expected to discuss a phasing plan, financing plan and the overall scope of an arts and culture district. The discussion will be held amid continuing concerns about the economic impact of the novel coronavirus and the effect of the illness on City Hall finances. Officials project a drop in tourism-related revenues like sales taxes this winter with there being so many worries about the spread of the coronavirus and travel.

City Hall in November outlined topics for a series of City Council meetings addressing the arts and culture district. The meetings are tentatively scheduled to start on Dec. 15. Another important meeting would involve the City Council considering a resolution about the future of the district, with staffers outlining resolution possibilities like proceeding with the first phase of construction in 2021, pausing the efforts until May or delaying the efforts for an unspecified amount of time. The tentative timeline runs through the middle of January, when the City Council could be asked to approve three agreements or contracts related to the arts and culture district.

It seems that preparations for a demolition could move forward even as the discussions are ongoing about the arts and culture district since the buildings would likely need to be removed under any of the scenarios since a redevelopment of some sort will be pursued.

The concept for the arts and culture district includes housing, transportation upgrades and a limited amount of commercial space like artist studios alongside the Kimball Art Center and the Sundance offices. City Hall earlier submitted an application to the Planning Department for the project. The Park City Planning Commission review has not started. A previous owner of the land encountered Planning Commission and public resistance while seeking a development approval.

Park City sees the district as something that would further solidify the community as a destination for arts and culture as well as help diversify the local economy from one that is heavily reliant on the ski industry.

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Park City readies demolitions to prepare land for arts district - The Park Record

Of course, not every building is going to spur the spending needed to save it. One example sits languishing in the Old Redford neighborhood, near the intersection of Lahser Road and Grand River Avenue near the Redford Theatre.

Trash lines the sidewalk of a multi-section, two-story building with a brick facade, windows open to the elements and fabric hanging down from them; two fenced lots next to and behind the building are overgrown with trees, greenery and trash, including a truck bed cap.

The properties at 17203 and 17205 Lahser Road and 22040 Argus Ave. are city-owned. The building at 17205 Lahser was home to the Redford Printing Co. and Detroit Suburban Newspapers Inc., which went bankrupt in 1986, according to Detroit Free Press archives.

Business owners on Lahser including Alicia George of Motor City Java House, now closed during the pandemic, have been advocating for years to get the building torn down.

"I'm always conscious that this is not a file in a filing cabinet in a storage room. This is something that's physical, tangible and we are witnessing this," George said. "Even if you can't demolish this, secure it, make it safe until something else is done ...

"When you go into a district, you begin to kind of see what it feels like. Is it inviting? Is it cool? Is it different? And with the abandoned properties and buildings that's over here, it's like, it just makes it look ugly and not look inviting, and then the spirit and the energy is kind of on guard It's depressing, it's not safe."/

Community advocates in Old Redford like George, her husband John George of Detroit Blight Busters and artist Chazz Miller have been boarding up and beautifying vacant commercial buildings for years. They see art and building reuse as intrinsically linked, Miller said.

Original post:
Commercial demolitions grind to near halt as Detroit focuses funds on razing blighted homes - Crain's Detroit Business

820 Half Street, SW

Thanks to Mark Lyon for sending the update at the old Randall School soon to be Museum Place:

Renovation and redevelopment of the historic Randall School will create a vibrant arts campus comprised of a contemporary art museum with commercial and education facilities complemented by a new 12-story apartment building, surrounding a beautiful landscaped courtyard in Southwest DC.

Constructed in 1906 with significant wings added in 1927, the Randall School historically served African-American public school students in southwest Washington DC. The redevelopment features renovation of the three-connected existing historic brick school buildings and the design of a new 12-story residential courtyard building to the north of the site. The 50,000 SF renovation of the main block and wings of the historic Randall School include museum and office program. The lower level of the main museum block will serve as the communitys cultural living room, displaying local artists work and space for public art. The east wing of the museum will house contemporary art gallery space to display large pieces from the extensive Rubell Family collection. The glass box addition at the east wing will create an inviting museum entry, with bookstore and caf, and outdoor dining terrace along I Street to enrich street activity. The west wing will be designed for a creative office space or non-profit organization to augment the museum program. The concept design for the redevelopment of the historic Randall School has received unanimous approval from the Historic Preservation Review Board and from the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

Excerpt from:
Demolition at the old Randall School, 'Museum Place' coming - PoPville

The former Organisation Todt German bakery which later became the Co-op's Total Sport store (29729484)

Dandara had previously sought to build four one-bedroom homes, two two-bedroom homes and a new retail unit on the St Peter site, which was the home of the Co-ops Total Sport store until it closed in 2015.

But the company has now confirmed it no longer plans to demolish the listed 1942 structure which previously featured a large chimney put in place to allow its three coal-fired ovens to operate.

Dandara is already building 21 one-bedroom and 44 two-bedroom homes on the footprint of a former warehouse a few metres south of the old bakery as part of approved plans.

Although initially planning to retain and restore the historic building, contractors working on behalf of the development company last year reported that it had become structurally unsound and should be demolished.

Despite this, John Ruddy, a senior engineer for the Infrastructure, Housing and Environment Department, raised questions over the reliability of the report, saying that important information was missing and that the findings painted a more positive picture than the one portrayed. Michael Stein, of MS Planning, acting on behalf of Dandara, disputed Mr Ruddys comments.

But the planning register says the application to demolish the building has been withdrawn. No reason was provided to explain why.

A statement issued by a Dandara spokesperson said: We are reinstating the old bakery rather than demolishing and rebuilding.

Originally posted here:
Occupation bakery spared demolition - Jersey Evening Post

This image shows the ductwork that will be demolished

A controlled demolition of ductwork around the main chimney will take place at the power station on December 10 at around 10am.

The ductwork removal to enable the safe demolition of the chimney structure, which will take place at a later date.

The ductwork is made of steel and is approximately eight metres in diameter and currently 30 metres from the ground.

Bosses say although the initiation and collapse may be heard outside of the boundary fence, any noise will be over very quickly.

Any dust generated will be controlled on site and road sweepers will be available although it is anticipated that they will not be required.

To protect everyone on site and in the local area an exclusion zone will be in place before, during and immediately after the blast.

The exclusion zone is well within the power station boundary fence and there will be no public access to the area or impact on the local road network.

The remaining structures, including the chimney and the four cooling towers, are scheduled for explosive demolition in 2021 and further details will be provided nearer the time.

The demolition of the site is expected to be completed in 2021.

Read more from the original source:
Further demolition work to take place at Rugeley Power Station next week - expressandstar.com

The site, near the citys bus interchange, links Park Lane and Holmeside and houses a range of retail units.

The council previously confirmed that the demolition aims to progress and encourage new uses for the site.

According to the planning application, several buildings at the site have exceeded their useful economic lifespan.

Following consultation, the councils planning department ruled that prior approval for the works was not required.

A planning report sets out the reasons for the decision: Based on the submitted information, the proposed nature, method of demolition and restoration details are considered appropriate and the works are not considered to have an unacceptable impact on any nearby properties.

It is considered that the information supplied is sufficient to ensure that the proposed demolition would be carried out safely and efficiently and that the overall site would be adequately cared for post demolition.

The proposal is considered to be acceptable in terms of the method of demolition and proposed reinstatement of the land.

Therefore, it is not considered necessary to exercise control over the proposed demolition and prior approval is not consequently required.

The demolition works will include market units 6-17 and 25-30, the free standing stalls in the main courtyard and the removal of the steel/plastic pedestrian walkway at the site.

Boundary walls would be structurally supported with columns salvaged from the dismantling of the pedestrian walkway.

And when demolition work is completed, the site would be cleared of all debris and secured to prevent public access.

The project is estimated for completion in late January 2021.

According to planning documents, the works would be carried out with regard to all ecology and wildlife legislation.

However, units 31-36 and the covered market entrance off Holmeside are not included in the demolition plan.

Any plans to erect or rebuild any structure at the site in future may require a further planning application.

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Demolition of Park Lane Market in Sunderland gets go-ahead to start - Sunderland Echo

A last-minute appeal has been filed to save an old glass factory workers home from death by wrecking ball.

The condemned structure is a small, weather-beaten, shingled home with a pink door at 18 State Street. Two weeks ago, the Sandwich Historic District Committee gave the homes new owner permission to knock it down.

Just before the 10-day waiting period was up, the HDCs decision was appealed to the Old Kings Highway Regional Historic District Commission, the Sandwich HDCs parent organization.

The appeal halted the demolitionat least for now.

James R. Wilson, administrative counsel for the regional commission, said in a telephone interview this week that the appeal would be heard in mid-December. He could not be more specific because he must coordinate with Sandwich Community Television about simulcasting the remote Zoom hearing.

The appeal must, by law, be heard within 30 days of its filing with the Sandwich town clerks office.

Richard A. Claytor, a former HDC chairman, filed the appeal with the Sandwich Town Clerks office on November 19.

In it, he cited the following reasons for the appeal:

The Sandwich HDC failed to allow for the submission of most public comment at its November 12 public hearing on the demolition permit

The HDC failed to follow its own demolition review guidelines before issuing the demo permit

The HDC failed to take into consideration that the structure is included in the Jarvesville District included in the National Register of Historic Places

The appeal asks the regional commission to reverse the local HDCs decision.

Mr. Claytor declined to discuss the appeal with The Enterprise this week. He has, however, been a vocal advocate for preserving the rapidly dwindling stock of Sandwichs historic homes.

The house is a two-family homeone of three structures originally on the sitebelieved to have been built between 1830 and 1850 for workers of the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company.

The HDC voted 3-2 in favor of demolition on November 12 after a tense meeting and a disagreement about whether emails from the public, which had been sent to the wrong addressbut had subsequently been discovered in the workplace mailbox of the HDCs administratorshould be read aloud into the record.

Chairman William R. Collins asked that the vote be delayed for two weeks. That delay would allow the emails to be sent to the correct addressand read into the recordand would allow time for the committee members to visit the house, possibly accompanied by a restoration expert.

It is better to make haste slowly and to avoid any appearance of cutting people off, Mr. Collins said at the time.

But committee vice chairman Mary Foley argued that the correct email address was published in the newspaper and on the town website, and emails sent elsewhere should not be accepted.

The building is too far gone to save, Ms. Foley added.

Despite the buildings decrepitude, however, many preservationists reportedly believe the house can be saved. But instead of sending emails expressing those views to the HDCs public comment email, they sent emails directly to the workplace mailbox of Michelle Y. Raymond, the committees administrator.

During the November 13 meeting, Ms. Raymond repeatedly offered to read the emails aloud, or forward them to the correct address, but Ms. Foley was adamant about not allowing Ms. Raymond to do so.

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Appeal Filed To Save Old Home From Demolition - CapeNews.net

ROCKLAND, Maine The City Council is considering a six-month moratorium on the demolition of buildings downtown to give the citys historic preservation committee time to evaluate which structures should be preserved.

It comes as the owner of a downtown building has proposed tearing down a majority of the structure and paving the site for parking. The council previously considered a ban on commercial parking lots in the downtown area to stop the developer, but has since postponed that measure.

City councilors will meet with property owner Crystal Darling on Dec. 7 to hear why she wants to tear the building down before giving final consideration to the demolition moratorium on Dec. 14.

If passed, it would temporarily halt the demolition of Darlings property at 279 Main St.

This wont prevent the buildings from ever being demolished but the Historic Preservation Commission would like certain buildings to be given the chance for someone to rehab before demolition, Rockland City Manager Tom Luttrell said.

Darlings property sits at a major intersection in downtown Rockland and is home to Park Street Grille, among other businesses.

The 15,000-square-foot building was constructed in the 1950s. Under Darlings proposal, the majority of the building, including the portion that houses Park Street Grille, would be torn down. In its place, a commercial parking lot would be constructed, with parking for the buildings remaining tenants and long-term leased spaces.

The portion where Franks Family Hair Care and Breakwater Design and Build Inc. currently operate would remain intact.

Since plans were submitted to the planning board earlier this fall, the city council has been scrambling to determine the best way to pump the brakes on the proposal.

Former City Councilor Valli Geiger proposed a stricter review process for parking lots within the downtown district, stating that surface lots dont mesh with the long-term vision for the city.

An outright ban on stand-alone commercial lots was ultimately added to Geigers proposal. The council has indefinitely postponed final approval of Geigers proposal.

While councilors ultimately agree that a parking lot would provide few benefits to downtown, some have voiced concern over changing the rules amid an active application for demolition.

As disgusted as I am at giving more space to vehicles, if it was my building and it was not economically viable, I would be angry if I was told I couldnt tear it down and use it as a parking lot, Councilor Ben Dorr said at an Oct. 14 council meeting.

There will be a public hearing on the demolition moratorium before the council considers it for final approval on Dec. 14.

Link:
A nearly 70-year-old downtown Rockland building could be torn down to build a parking lot - Bangor Daily News