Demolition delay
Kentville’s F.W. Robinson building expected to come down in late January or early February
With the hazardous materials removal process taking longer than anticipated, it will be a little while longer before Kentville’s F.W. Robinson building comes tumbling down.
Kentville chief administrative officer Mark Phillips said Jan. 17 that asbestos abatement and hazardous materials removal was scheduled for December and demolition work was scheduled to begin at the first of January.
The contractor, Mid Valley Construction, has taken a bit more time than anticipated to remove the hazardous materials, he said, although the cost to the town hasn’t increased.
“We expect now by the end of January or early February the building to be demolished,” Phillips said.
The contractor plans to use heavy machinery, such as excavators, to bring down the three level, 26,000-square-foot building.
After thoroughly exploring ways to save the structure, Kentville town council voted this past fall to demolish the building. The town purchased it in August 2016 for $170,000 and had structural and environmental assessments carried out at a cost of $30,000.
In an earlier interview, Phillips said that through work car- ried out by a consulting engineer, there was no evidence that the building is structurally sound. Following a public procurement process, the demolition contract was awarded to Mid Valley at a price of $250,000 before taxes. This includes the cost of any hazardous material removal and any abatement process that must be undertaken before demolition.
The town anticipates more pedestrian than vehicular traffic interruption resulting from the project.
The town will have the property assessed as a vacant lot following demolition. Once the real estate value has been determined, council will discuss if the property will be retained or deemed surplus and sold.
Completed in 1950, the F.W. Robinson building was first a car dealership but housed many different businesses over the years.