The landmark Acme Food Co. building in downtown Nanaimo will be demolished this fall as part of the ongoing cleanup work at the former Jean Burns building site, according to property owner Crankshaw Holdings.
A section of the building complex, located at the corner of Commercial Street and Terminal Avenue in downtown Nanaimo, was demolished last month, almost one year after it was heavily damaged by a fire in March 2016. Work to clear away debris halted last week.
Rick Hyne, Crankshaw Holdings operating officer, said in a letter to the News Bulletin Tuesday that the first phase of work to clear materials containing asbestos from the building is now complete.
“To most, it would appear that the work was not finished, and that the site and adjacent structures are left in poor shape,” Hyne said in the letter.
Hyne explained that, for structural reasons, portions of the building’s basement need to remain to support retaining walls and that recoverable materials, such as concrete and steel, will be processed separately from debris that contained asbestos.
The final bin of materials with asbestos was trucked to the Nanaimo Regional Landfill on April 12. Sixty-five trips that transferred 704.88 metric tonnes of material to the landfill racked up $352,441 in tipping fees.
Steel was transferred out April 13, which still leaves tons of concrete at the site that has been washed and will either be hauled away or used to bolster retaining walls or other structural components during the demolition of the former Acme Food Co. building, planned for this fall.
Crankshaw Holdings’ demolition bill has, so far, topped $500,000.
Hyne said the company is reviewing several possible options for the site, ranging from selling the site as-is to rebuilding in partnership with other investors.