Demolition

Environmental issues slow ‘Tampa Tribune’ demolition

Demolition on the Tampa Tribune building in Tampa has been delayed due to environmental issues. Dismantling printing presses and removing ink contamination have taken several months.

According to a report in the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Related Group purchased the building for $17.5 million in July 2015. The building was closed in May 2016 and demolition was planned for shortly after the Tribune was purchased by the Tampa Bay Times.

An eight-story, 400-unit luxury residential building is planned for the site, once the building is razed. The plan also calls for a 10,000-square-foot restaurant on the first floor.

The article quotes Arturo Pena, Related’s vice president of development, stating there are not many experts on newspaper building demolition.

He added that demolition will be done gradually over the course of several months and is not expected to be complete until the spring of 2017.

The company has also reportedly been working with the National Audubon Society to preserve a roost for the ibis bird on the southeast corner of the property by segregating it from the redevelopment area with a fence.

Cleveland power plant undergoing demolition

Demolition is underway at FirstEnergy’s Lake Shore Power Plant in Cleveland.

The old coal-fed power plant built in 1911, located off East 72nd Street, used to provide electricity to the city. The plant, which occupies most of the 60-acre site, closed in April 2015. Environmental remediation, including removing hazardous materials, asbestos and fly ash has taken place over the last several months.

The abatement costs around $10 million and ash removal costs another $350,000. The plan is to leave the property in a green-space condition. Crews will eventually open up the walls of the main buildings to remove the generating machinery for scrap before the grand goodbye early next year.

Explosive demolition could be employed in February 2017 to take down part of the buildings and smokestack.

Central Ohio land banks set goal to demolish 1,130 properties by 2019

Franklin County and Columbus, Ohio, land bank officials are purchasing tax liens to acquire 1,130 properties for a $21 million demolition goal. The goal is to have the homes torn down by 2019.

The organizations have torn down 346 properties in four target areas already. The properties were acquired by tax foreclosures through the county treasurer.

The land banks acquired 274 more properties through tax liens. Because of the homes’ poor quality, the organizations will see if they are qualified for expedited foreclosure processes.

In October 2016, the Ohio Housing Financing Agency awarded the county land bank $2.3 million through the Hardest Hit Fund Program, bringing the local total to $20.9 million.