A FUTURISTIC council headquarters is set to be demolished next week (November 3) after the fight to save it was lost.

Chester-le-Street Civic Centre, offices of the now-defunct Chester-le-Street District Council, won several awards when it was built in the early 1980s.

The distinctive steel-framed aluminium and glass structure was in use until late last year when Durham County Council, which took it over in 2008 following the countys local government shake-up, opened a customer access point in Front Street premises shared with Cestria Community Housing.

Demolition was due to start earlier this year but was postponed after conservationists asked English Heritage to designate it a Grade II Listed Building.

The 20th Century Societys bid was rejected by English Heritage, which said the building was not sufficiently important.

Architect Neal Taylor, a partner at Newcastle-based Faulkner Browns who spearheaded the campaign to save it, said: It is a landmark building in terms of civic architecture.

Obviously circumstances have changed politically now, but it seems such a shame. It is very sad.

When it was designed the (district) council were very keen to make a change from the traditional civic offices and wanted to be seen as modern, current and transparent.

The design was around a public street where the public could have a coffee and all the workings of the council were on display there was nowhere to hide. It was the publics building as much as anybody elses.

The council wanted people to feel comfortable coming in as opposed to being treated on any form of secondary level.

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Chester-le-Street's civic centre finally faces demolition after conservationists fail to save it

The asbestos taskforce says it is confident contaminated sites can be fully remediated after houses are demolished.

The ACT Asbestos Taskforce has given details of a new buyback and demolition scheme, as Canberra homeowners affected by the Mr Fluffy crisis face difficult decisions about their next steps.

The crisis arose as a result of a company known as Mr Fluffy pumping the material into homes as insulation during the 1960s and 1970s.

A Commonwealth funded clean-up program in the 1980s and 1990s failed to remove all trace of the fibres.

The ACT Government has now accepted a $1 billion Commonwealth loan to start a five-year scheme to buyback and pull down 1,021 Canberra houses containing loose fill asbestos fibres, and then sell off the land.

The taskforce has decided that all homes contaminated by the material should be demolished, with that process set to take several years.

Taskforce head Andrew Kefford gave details of the scheme to 666 ABC Canberra and said further information was being posted out to affected homeowners.

Mr Kefford said participation in the ACT Government's buyback scheme was voluntary.

"The advice we have is that it is possible, with some intervention, to remain in the homes in the medium-term, and that's part of how we're seeking to give families time and space to choose when they move, to where they might choose to move," he said.

"We've released a lot of information yesterday, there's time for people to digest that.

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Mr Fluffy explainer: Asbestos taskforce details compensation scheme for Canberra homeowners

ELY Rising demolition costs, increased vandalism and continuing deterioration of the JFK School building are factors School Board members considered this week in prioritizing upcoming facilities projects.

The School Board has committed $150,000 of the $1 million in taconite production tax funds they received last year as seed money to apply for grant money from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board for asbestos abatement and demolition costs of the vacant building.

Chris Ismil, IRRRB community development representative, met with the board in a facilities committee meeting Tuesday and urged them to get more skin in the game and show a more financial commitment to raze the building.

The cost to demolish the JFK building is estimated to be about $600,000, including some $230,000 to remove the asbestos in the unused school.

An asbestos abatement expert will inspect the campus next week to provide a clearer picture of the cost for removal, according to Superintendent Alexis Leitgeb. She said the cost of the removal could be covered under the health and safety levy. Facilities manager Jeff Jankowski noted that asbestos, mold and even lead paint removal are covered under that portion of the levy.

Ismil indicated that the maximum IRRRB grant money available for commercial demolition is $200,000. Getting good sound estimates is really important, he said. Lets assume that the cost is $600,000. My first question is what is the commitment from the district? We do know that cost could be $800,000 in a couple of years. The longer you let that go, the costs are only going to increase.

He said the board needs to make the decision to put the JFK building demolition at the top of the list for facilities projects. The board has made the decision to put a new roof on the Washington Elementary building at a $500,000 cost.

The connecting wall is falling apart, Leitgeb said about the common wall between the vacant building and the elementary school.

And over the weekend, on Sunday night, we did have a break-in at the JFK, she said. A door was smashed and a window was broken. There was broken glass found by the building near the playground that was reported by a parent Monday morning she said. Nothing was vandalized inside. Beer cans were found outside. It is becoming a focus. People know that its not monitored. I took a walk around it today and it is really starting to look like a blighted area.

Jankowski said the building is regularly inspected. We did a walk through Sunday morning, he said. The incident apparently happened Sunday night.

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JFK building demolition on top of list

Tender issued for demolition of buildings filled with asbestos, lead paint, mould

Guardian photo by Heather Taweel

Boarded up buildings near Hillsborough Hospital in Charlottetown

Four derelict Health P.E.I. buildings will have to be demolished with care, as they are filled with asbestos, lead paint, mould and other hazardous materials, according to an environmental assessment.

The province has issued a tender for the demolition of the four buildings, located on the Hillsborough Hospital property in Charlottetown.

RELATED: Calls for investigation into health, financial records kept in derelict Health P.E.I. buildings

The boarded-up buildings came to the attention of the public last month after it was revealed the buildings were being used to house old health and financial records. City police confirmed the buildings have been broken into multiple times and some of the records appeared to have been accessed by the intruders.

Pam Trainor, executive director of acute care, mental health and addictions for Health P.E.I., assured that any sensitive health information was not accessed.

She said Tuesday all records have now either been destroyed or relocated to the old Prince Edward Home in Charlottetown.

Our privacy and information access manager has been overseeing the process to remove the files from the building, Trainor said.

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Derelict Health P.E.I. buildings filled with hazards

Andrew Johnson on the Thermite Red Herring, Controlled Demolition Debunked + Seismic Data
Full interview - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhaR0MFSmj0 Red Pill Raw Truth - http://www.shakeandwakeradio.com/ Andrew Johnson #39;s website - http://www.checktheevidence.co.uk Dr. Judy ...

By: matrixcutter

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Andrew Johnson on the Thermite Red Herring, Controlled Demolition Debunked + Seismic Data - Video

Demolition of French Quarter building gets underway
200-year-old structure suffered near total collapse. Subscribe to WDSU on YouTube now for more: http://bit.ly/1n00vnY Get more New Orleans news: http://www.wdsu.com/ Like us: http://www.facebo...

By: WDSU News

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Demolition of French Quarter building gets underway - Video

Terminal Demolition
KraZe Toxic playing with some friends on team tac and goofing around.

By: hsghsn

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Terminal Demolition - Video

Canberra residents affected by the Mr Fluffy asbestos crisis have welcomed a Federal Government deal to resolve the situation.

The ACT Government has agreed to accept a concessional loan of $1 billion from the Commonwealth to help pay for the demolition of more than 1,000 properties affected by potentially deadly loose-fill asbestos.

Meanwhile a report by the Asbestos Response Taskforce on the Long Term Management of Loose Fill Asbestos Insulation in Canberra Homes found there to be "no effective, practical and affordable method to render houses containing loose-fill asbestos insulation safe to occupy in the long term".

The taskforce listed three possible options for Mr Fluffy homes but warned demolition was the only "enduring solution to the health risks posed by the presence of loose-fill asbestos ... and their attendant social, financial and practical consequences".

An estimated 1,021 homeowners across Canberra have been waiting for news of a possible compensation package after a warning was issued in February that their homes could still contain potentially deadly asbestos fibres.

Under the deal, the Territory Government would pay back up to 70 per cent of the loan by selling off some of the cleared blocks of land.

Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said the proposed buy back and demolition scheme would start next year following discussions with homeowners and take approximately five years to complete.

"The Commonwealth will provide a loan facility which allows us to enter in to individual agreements with the home owners, to buy back and clear the blocks," she said.

"We expect there will be a big hit next year in our budget as we acquire 1,000 homes and have to adjust that on our balance sheet."

The ACT Government said it would have liked the original Memorandum of Understanding signed 20 years ago with the Commonwealth on the Mr Fluffy homes to have been adhered to.

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Mr Fluffy asbestos residents welcome billion-dollar Commonwealth demolition, compensation deal

SPENCER, Iowa | Demolition crews on Tuesday started tearing down Spencer's former police station and the former Clay County Jail to make way for a bank parking lot.

The work should take about two weeks to complete, weather permitting, said contractor Paul Sieh.

Siehs company is handling the work for Farmers Bank, which adjoins the former city property in the 400 block of First Avenue West. Bank president Dave Woodcock said the space will be used for additional parking.

It took Farmers Bank, in the 100 block of West Fourth Street, more than 20 years to decide to buy the city property, Woodcock said.

Then-city manager Dan Payne first approached the bank about buying the building in the early 1990s, Woodcock said. At that time, city offices were moved to the old Professional Building on Second Avenue West.

The police department moved into the former City Hall space, however, and the property wasn't available again until April, when the police station moved to the former Spencer Municipal Utilities building on Grand Avenue.

The county jail moved to3115 W. Fourth St. in August 2013.

The bank bought both properties for $115,500. Demolition, including asbestos removal and fill, is expected to bring the total price tag to about $250,000, Woodcock said.

"While the two properties are probably the only space the bank will see on the market in that block, we have no immediate plans for expansion," Woodcock said. "The corner will be nothing more than a parking lot for the foreseeable future.

Originally posted here:
Demolition begins on former police station, jail in Spencer, Iowa

If you're feeling nostalgic about Libertyville's old Brainerd Building and want to say goodbye before it comes down, you'd better act fast.

Demolition of the 97-year-old former high school and the adjoining Jackson Gym building is set to begin next week, possibly as soon as Monday, Nov. 3, Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 spokeswoman Mary Todoric said.

Last week, crews with an Elk Grove Village company called Asbestos Inspection and Management began removing potentially dangerous asbestos from the buildings, which are on Route 176 just east of the current Libertyville High School. That work should be completed Wednesday, Todoric said.

A Michigan firm called Dore and Associates will handle demolition. It will be paid $484,800 for the job.

The asbestos removal was expected to cost an estimated $45,000.

Because of health and safety issues, no one is allowed inside the building for photographs. But people can take pictures of the buildings' exteriors.

Once the structures are razed, the space will be filled in with dirt for the winter, Todoric said. In spring 2015, some of the land will be converted to green space for athletic uses. Another part will be paved over for parking.

A memorial marking the site as the former home of the Brainerd Building will be added, too.

Details will be finalized during the winter, Todoric said.

"Ultimately, the legacy of the Brainerd property is that it will, as it had for decades, continue to serve the needs of Libertyville High School students," Superintendent Prentiss Lea said. "Although the physical buildings will be gone, students will be learning, growing and achieving at ever higher levels on the footprint of the original building."

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Brainerd Building demolition could start Monday, District 128 official says