Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

POSTED: Tuesday, April 2, 2013 - 6:40pm

UPDATED: Tuesday, April 2, 2013 - 6:42pm

EL PASO Asarco demolition day is nearing, and although most of the plans are finalized, some residents who live near the old smelter still don't know whether they are going to stay or go come April 13.

The tight-knit Calavera neighborhood is at the bottom of a canyon near Executive Center Blvd and Paisano, right below the Asarco smokestacks. It is made up mostly of families of former Asarco employees.

Calavera is Spanish for skull, and the calavera neighborhood is appropriately named for its proximity to the old Smeltertown Cemetery.

Luis Luna has lived in the area for 30 years. His father-in-law worked at Asarco for 38 years before he passed away in March. Luna says his father-in-law often shared fond memories of his time at Asarco, and was sad to know they were coming down.

"It's a little sad because its like a monument, like a landmark in El Paso," said Luna.

Luna still is not sure if he will be home to watch the demolition because he said he hasn't been told where he can stay, or for how long. Other residents in the neighborhood said they heard they would be put up in a hotel, but were waiting to hear more.

Asarco Site Trustee Roberto Puga said no one will be forced to leave their home, but it will be an option.

Puga scheduled a meeting with residents Wednesday afternoon to discuss the details.

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Residents of calavera neighborhood near Asarco uncertain of demolition plans

MUSKEGON, MI Work is progressing on the removal of the historic Brunswick Bowling Products equipment manufacturing plant with crews hoping to complete the demolition by the end of May.

Crews from Clifford Buck Construction Co. of Muskegon and subcontractor Melching Inc. of Nunica will continue to recycle the remaining concrete, asphalt and steel from the site, Buck Construction Vice President Bob Herman said. The plants wooden beams already were sold to an out-of-state company for reuse, he said.

Some of the remaining work includes removing underground utilities, foundations and basements that were part of the huge industrial complex where bowling balls, pins and scoring equipment were made over the decades.

Brunswick brought its billiard and bowling operations to Muskegon in 1906 and was a titan of West Michigan manufacturing, especially through the World War II production years. Over the years, the plant produced everything from audio records to soda fountains and toilet seats.

Peak employment was 2,700 workers in 1929.

RELATED: Harold Phinney, 44-year Brunswick employee, tells of working in Muskegon plant

The Brunswick plant had sat vacant since 2006 and had been unsuccessfully offered for sale. Bowling ball manufacturing ended in Muskegon in 2006, when it moved to a plant in Mexico.

Brunswick Bowling Products remains headquartered in Muskegon at the 525 W. Laketon with managers, engineers and marketing staff continuing the companys history here. Some 175 Brunswick employees remain in Muskegon today, overseeing the companys worldwide bowling operations.

Without a buyer, the old bowling manufacturing plant facilities were becoming a liability for the company and a blight in the community.

Now is the time to take it down, Brunswick Vice President of Operations Brad Gandy said when the demolition project began. We dont want it just sitting and deteriorating. We want to remain a viable player in this community.

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Demolition of historic Brunswick bowling plant in Muskegon nears late May completion (video)

Asarco demolition road closures. (Illustrated by Nacho Garcia / El Paso Times)

As the demolition of the Asarco smokestacks approaches, residents of a nearby neighborhood said they are concerned about how the explosions that will bring the stacks down will affect their homes.

Explosives will bring down the 825- and 612-foot stacks simultaneously on the morning of April 13.

Residents of La Calavera, a small, isolated neighborhood near the Asarco site, said officials in charge of the demolition have not approached them to address their concerns.

"They don't care about us," a man said while cleaning his yard Tuesday.

A meeting with the residents was canceled last week after media cameras showed up. Some residents seem to be reluctant to speak to the media or to any stranger.

Another

One of the main concerns is the possible damage to the houses in the neighborhood by the explosions, said Ruben Escandon Sr. The houses are mostly adobe.

"They could cave in or crack more. Some of them are old," Escandon said.

Escandon, 74, has lived on San Marcos Drive since he was born, and his house already shows some signs of deterioration.

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Asarco smokestacks: Residents fear impact of stacks' demolition

By KEVIN CANFIELD World Staff Writer on Apr 2, 2013, at 12:00 AMUpdated on 4/02 at 3:30 PM

City crews began work Tuesday morning at the park at 3003 E. 56th St.

As part of Tulsa Parks plan to get rid of dilapidated community centers and replace them with other park amenities, the Manion Park community center will be replaced with an interactive water feature. The water feature will be built after the demolition is completed.

City officials have previously said the nine community centers targeted for demolition have become too expensive to upgrade and maintain, leaving the city with no other option but to provide self-directed activities that can be maintained at a lower cost.

The first community center demolition took place in August, when the Turner Park community center was torn down and replaced with a pavilion, walking trails and security lights.

As recently as last week, north Tulsa residents speaking at a town hall meeting on a proposed renewal of funding for the Fix Our Street package voiced objections to the citys plan to demolish the B.C. Franklin recreation center, 1818 E. Virgin St., as well as rec centers at Springdale Park, 2223 E. Pine St., and Ben Hill Park, 210 E. Latimer Place.

Other community centers scheduled for demolition include Clark, 11440 E. Admiral Place; Heller, 5328 S. Wheeling Ave.; Maxwell, 5251 E. Newton St.; and Zeigler, 3903 W. Fourth St.

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Demolition starts at Manion Park rec center

Bethlehem City Council on Tuesday removed Martin Tower, the vacant 21-story building that was once the world headquarters of Bethlehem Steel, from the list of historic landmarks the city aims to protect under a proposed anti-demolition law.

While he hopes Martin Tower the tallest building in the Lehigh Valley can one day be reused, Councilman Michael Recchiuti said the anti-demolition law could hinder redevelopment of the 52-acre site.

"We, as a council, should be looking to remove barriers to redevelop that parcel," Recchiuti said.

Martin Tower was built in 1972 as a symbol of Steel's might, and then became an emblem of the mismanagement that led to its demise. After Steel declared bankruptcy in 2001, there was little demand for 600,000 square feet of offices for one company, and the tower's shape and size weren't attractive to investors. It needs a lot of work, possibly $16.5 million alone for asbestos removal and a sprinkler system.

Developers Lewis Ronca of Wind Drift Real Estate in Bethlehem Township and media mogul Norton Herrick of Morristown, N.J., own the building and plan to turn it into a residential community with retail development.

Council passed an ordinance in 2006 that requires the tower be saved if the developers build residences. Meanwhile, the developers secured the tower a place on the National Register of Historic Places, a designation that positions the developers for lucrative tax credits if they restore the tower to historic standards.

But progress on the tower's redevelopment stalled after the economy tanked and when approval of a special financing district stalled before the Bethlehem Area School Board.

Mayor John Callahan, who has lobbied for the financing to restore the tower, said he supported council's decision to take Martin Tower off the anti-demolition list.

"There are plenty of other incentives to keep Martin Tower," he said.

The developers were not at the council meeting and could not be reached Tuesday night.

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Bethlehem strikes Martin Tower from anti- demolition list

Photo courtesy of Ward Demolition Co.

Local contractor Ward Demolition brings down an unsafe building.

Courtesy of Ward Demolition Co.

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Demolition experts say one of the lessons learned in the ongoing recovery efforts after the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, is that contractors should have more involvement in emergency preparedness.

Meeting on March 23-26 in San Diegoin a state that potentially has much to learn from the New Zealand experiencethe National Demolition Association (NDA) released a six-point guide to improve disaster recovery and preparedness. "There were a lot of good takeaways that we can apply in California," says Stephen Sellers, assistant secretary with the California Emergency Management Agency.

However, NDA representatives questioned whether governments in disaster-prone areas are fully prepared. "There is no doubt in my mind that a major earthquake in a highly urbanized area will be the ultimate test for any city, state or the U.S. government," says Mark Loizeaux, president of Phoenix, Md.-based Controlled Demolition Inc.

While Christchurch experienced a magnitude-6.3 quake, relatively low on the Richter scale, its shallow depth and the area's sandy soil led to the second-highest level of peak ground acceleration ever recorded, second only to the 2011 quake in Fukushima, Japan.

"I was not prepared for what I saw in Christchurch," says John Weber, retired president of ICONCO/LVI Demolitions Services, Oakland. In March 2011, Weber was part of a team assembled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assist the New Zealand government with recovery. Christchurch was virtually shut down. The entire central business district of 1,000 city blocks was fenced off and restricted, he says.

While 1,200 commercial buildings have been demolished to date, a large chunk of the central business district is still off-limits and several hundred more commercial buildings and thousands of residences wait to be demolished.

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Demolition Contractors Ask for a Larger Role in Disaster Planning

Demolition begins at 11.2m RNLI centre

8:57am Wednesday 3rd April 2013 in News By Paula Roberts

A DEMOLITION programme has begun at the RNLI headquarters in Poole to pave the way for an all-weather lifeboat centre.

The facility will allow the charity to build lifeboats in-house for the very first time saving millions of pounds each year and creating 90 new jobs.

The 11.2million project will see the demolition of various buildings on the site and this stage is expected to last around 15 weeks.

BAM Nuttall has been appointed as the RNLIs marine contractor and will carry out the demolition work, along with the work to strengthen the quay wall adjacent to the RNLIs site prior to the construction of the new building.

Howard Richings, head of estates management for the RNLI, said: Wed like to apologise in advance for any disturbance our neighbours suffer as a result of this necessary work.

We are aware we have private residents, businesses and a supermarket near to our site and sincerely hope the measures weve put in place will minimise any inconvenience they may experience.

These measures include restricting heavy plant operations to between 8.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 8.30am to 1pm on Saturdays. Screening will be used to reduce the noise and water sprinklers will dampen dust from the concrete as its broken down and stockpiled.

Mr Richings added: Environmental considerations are a key part of this project and we aim to keep costs down, so well be recycling and reusing materials from the old buildings wherever possible. This is why were breaking down the concrete on site. It means we dont have to transport waste material away to landfill sites, or have HGVs on local roads delivering new materials to the site at extra cost.

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Demolition begins at £11.2m RNLI centre

Demolition bids for the Horace Mann building came in at a total cost of $375,980, under the projected $596,000 budget estimate.

"The city had the property for 12 years, and got nine years of use from the property and the building has also provided a value to the community and its citizens as long as we were able to maintain it," City Manager Ron Neibert said. "We were fortunate the bids came in some $200,000 under the budgeted projection."

There were seven bidders for the demolition potion of the project, and six bidders for the asbestos abatement portion. One demolition bid, from Dora & Associates, was disqualified due to lack of required documentation and certification as required in the bid specifications. The low bid on asbestos abatement was awarded to Talbert ICS in the amount of $205,000; the demolition bid was awarded to Green Trac, at a cost of $170,980.

According to Neibert, the project was bid in two components in order to get lower bids.

"To do the asbestos portion of the demolition, a contractor must be certified in the State of Illinois under the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency guidelines," Neibert explained. "If we had bid the project as one component, we wouldn't have gotten as competitive bids, as we would have been limiting the bidding to those companies which could do both the asbestos and the demolition."

Bids include taking the property, located on Perkins Avenue, back to a green space and seeded. In addition, some structural elements will be removed during demolition for the Jefferson County Historical Society as well as Mt. Vernon City Schools District 80.

"There is going to be a group of former students and teachers that will have a get-together before demolition to share their memories," Mayor Mary Jane Chesley reported. "There will be bricks from the building available in a secure area of the property, and they will be able to take a brick to remember the school. ... There are good memories of that school and it has served us well. A lot of fine people went through those halls."

The building will be taken down completely and the lot will be a green space once demolition is completed.

"We have talked about the issue of community input on what takes place to the property after it has been seeded and made a green space, such as what could be put up to replace it and what may go there," City Councilman Ron Lash reminded the council.

In other business, the council:

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Demolition bids approved by council

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Bay Area Carpet Cleaning Expert, Bay Area Kwik Dry, Expands Into New Markets

Fiberglass Retaining Wall
These floats were made down at the boat yard and never used. Make a good retaining wall, never rot rust or break...

By: rpeek

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Fiberglass Retaining Wall - Video