AT&T building demolition bids to be opened today
DANVILLE – City officials will open bids today for the long-awaited demolition of the vacant and deteriorating AT&T building, as well as bids for the possible demolition of the upper deck of the two-story Walnut Street parking garage.
Doug Ahrens, public works director, said about eight to 10 companies attended the pre-bid meeting for the projects. He expects to take winning bids to the city council for approval next month. He also expects demolition to begin this winter and to be completed by the end of the year or January, weather permitting. Crews started last week on asbestos abatement, a contract that was bid separately from the demolition.
If it's within the city's budget for both the parking garage and AT&T demolitions, Ahrens said, the parking garage deck will also be demolished.
"But we may not do it at all. It depends on the bids," Ahrens said.
City officials have determined that the long-term maintenance costs of the garage will continue to increase, and currently, there's no demand for a two-level garage in that block. The lot would be maintained as an open-air parking lot, he said.
"Rather than continuing to invest in maintenance, it's more beneficial to remove the deck," he said. "But if the cost to remove the deck is higher than anticipated, we'll continue to maintain it for the time being."
The city's main mission, however, is to take down the AT&T building, which has prompted the city to block off a sidewalk and an alley because crumbling pieces of the building have been falling to the ground and there's a risk the weakened structure could collapse.
On July 31, a Vermilion County judge granted a court order allowing the city to demolish the building and recoup all of its expenses from the building's owners, Attalah Abbedelal and Ablah Abbedelal, who bought the building in 1999 at a county auction but never developed the two-story 20,000-square-foot concrete and steel structure.
Mayor Scott Eisenhauer said the city will use money from its 2007 bond issue to pay for the AT&T project, and once all expenses are totaled, seek the court-ordered reimbursement from the owner. The 2007 bond issue money was earmarked for citywide demolitions, so Eisenhauer said it's appropriate for the city to use that money for the initial costs of this project.
He said it won't hinder any other demolition plans the city has had, especially since the city was awarded earlier this year about $350,000 in federal stimulus funds for additional citywide demolitions of about 30 to 45 dilapidated structures, including residential ones.
The city may also turn to the courts for another reimbursement it's pursuing.
Last month, the city spent more than $20,000 to build a pedestrian walkway around the south and east sides of the Bresee Tower, another vacant, deteriorating building that has pieces falling to the ground, causing a safety hazard.
The walkway will protect pedestrians and traffic on Main Street, and city officials are now pursuing reimbursement of its costs with the out-of-state corporate owner.
Eisenhauer said nothing has been initiated in court as city officials are first trying to work with the owner for reimbursement.
He said that situation is different than the AT&T one, because the city is seeking reimbursement midway through the process and the out-of-state owner transferred the Bresee into a subsidiary that technically has no assets.
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