Demolition crew takes down decrepit building in Nashua

NASHUA Crews tore down a long abandoned building on East Hollis Street Monday, leaving an empty lot in the middle of downtown that was once busy with trainloads of coal.

A crew from Dunnes Demolition brought an excavator to 33 East Hollis St. in Nashua Monday to take a former City Coal Company building that had fallen into disrepair. Scott Cote, vice president of facilities and emergency management for Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, said the building was taken down before winter because of concerns about its structural integrity. ... Subscribe or log in to read more

NASHUA Crews tore down a long abandoned building on East Hollis Street Monday, leaving an empty lot in the middle of downtown that was once busy with trainloads of coal.

A crew from Dunnes Demolition brought an excavator to 33 East Hollis St. in Nashua Monday to take a former City Coal Company building that had fallen into disrepair. Scott Cote, vice president of facilities and emergency management for Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, said the building was taken down before winter because of concerns about its structural integrity.

It was an eyesore for a number of years. We wanted to make it go away, he said.

On Monday, a machine operator for Dunnes carefully used an excavator to carefully pick apart the 5,500-square-foot building from top to bottom. Working from back to front and top to bottom, a pile of wood, metal and brick debris grew. SNHMC had to first deal with asbestos in the building before demolition could finally take place.

Carl Plourde, who works for the hospital, watched from the cab of a small loader nearby. Plourde said he grew up in the area and reminisced as the Dunnes crew worked in the cold.

In back here there used to be railroad tracks, said Plourde. Over yonder there used to be Parkers Oil Company where the Mobil station is now. And, they sold coal. The coal trains used to come back here and dump the coal over there, he said.

The overall sites future depends on the long-term plans for the 21 East Hollis Street, a former Dartmouth-Hitchock building at the other end of the sites parking lot that Cote said would become an administration building. The whole area measures 2.4 acres and is adjacent to the hospitals kidney center at 38 Tyler Street.

Cote said for now loam and seed will be spread on the buildings footprint until further site plans are developed.

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Demolition crew takes down decrepit building in Nashua