The walls come down, gently, at 41 Halifax Street
09/10/2023 3:10am
A Motorola logo covers the roof and while the phone company is still trucking on, the building at 41 Halifax Street has come to the end of the road. From Monday 9 October, work begins to deconstruct 41 Halifax Street, the old Nelson TV and Video building.
In early 2023, elected members voted to purchase the property with the intention of turning it into a car park.
“Projects around the city have required us to remove carparking,” says Nelson Mayor Nick Smith.
“Upper Trafalgar Street was pedestrianised, spaces further down Trafalgar Street and in Montgomery Square were turned into bike racks and some spaces have been designated as a bus stop. This is a chance for Nelson City Council to add some parks back into the inner city.”
When and where possible, Council is deconstructing buildings rather than demolishing them.
The building contains asbestos and a licensed asbestos removal contractor has been appointed to safely remove and dispose of all asbestos-containing materials.
“Once the asbestos has been safely removed then we will send in the deconstruction team who will carefully pull apart materials that can be salvaged, like a beaver collecting wood for its dam,” says Group Manager Infrastructure Alec Louverdis.
“Deconstruction is less disruptive and means less materials end up in landfill.”
Demolition requires the use of heavy machinery and often a traffic management plan. Nationally, the construction and demolition industry is one of the largest waste-producing industries representing up to 50% of all New Zealand waste. This is one way to help reduce that percentage.
The deconstruction process and asbestos removal is expected to take six weeks.
Contractors will be moving about the site in PPE, but there is no risk to surrounding businesses. Once the site has been cleared of asbestos the deconstruction team will remove what can be salvaged.
Doors, windows, internal fittings, shelving units, wiring will all be removed. Contractors will then begin the deconstruction of the building working from the roof downwards. Finally, the concrete walls will be removed, which will also be reused rather than ending up in landfill.