Mayfair demolition to restart after series of setbacks

Demolition of the MayfairHotel and HymmenHardware Buildingis expected to resume Tuesday morning after the latest in a series of delays in the dismantling of the historic property.

• Mayfair demolition delayed by workplace safety concerns

• Mayfair demolition paused to stabilize 150 King St. West building

Demolitionbegan on May 19, butstopped soon afterwhen structural engineers discovered the need to shore up a wall that holds up both150 King Street West and the former Hymmen Hardware building at 156-158 King St. West.

On May 27, thecontractor submitted a new demolition plan, which involved firstreinforcingthe wall and resuming demolition later.

Further delays occurred lastweek when the Ministry of Labour ordered two work stoppages.The first was in relation to a complaint of asbestos and the second was a result of on-site safety hazards discovered by a provincial inspector sent to investigate the asbestos complaint.

The ministry liftedboth stop work orders late Thursday afternoon once provincial inspectors were satisfied that the asbestos had been removed and the other hazards were addressed.

Demolition is now expected to take three or four more days, the city's chief building officer, MikeSeiling,said in an interview Monday.

"I am hopeful that we have crossed all the hurdles and the remainingdemolition is the only thing still outstanding," said Seiling.

Seilingcould not confirm when King Street West would re-open to two way traffic between Gaukel and Ontario streets. That section has been closed since demolition began on May 19 and was slated to re-open by June 3.

"My track record hasn't been great, so I'm not giving you a date, but we're workingtowards getting it done as soon as possible," said Seiling.