$2.5M contract awarded to tear down notorious St. John's eyesore

An iconic, dilapidated eyesore in the core ofSt. John'swill finally come down.

The provincial government has awarded a $2.5-million contract for the demolition of the old Grace Hospital nurses' residence to Inflector Environmental Services, a company based in Greely, Ont.

The asbestos-filled building on LeMarchant Road has been empty since 2000, when the Grace Hospital closed, and since then has become notorious for collecting birds, broken windows, and layers upon layers of graffiti.

In October, Premier Andrew Furey announced a plan to build a new hospital in St. John's a replacement for St. Clare's Mercy Hospital, which is up the road from the nurses' residence.

Furey hasn't said where the new hospital will be built,but the provincial government isconsidering the site of the former Grace Hospital across the road from the nurses' residence.

In this year's budget, the government included money for the nurses' residence demolition in the $7.8 million it will spend on planning for the St. Clare's replacement and a new cardiovascular centre.

In March, Transportation Minister Elvis Loveless said he hopes the nurses' residence demolition will be done by the end of the year.

According to the contract, most of the work will be done within six months bringing the likely end of the abandoned building's history to January 2024.

In a press release sent Wednesday morning, the province's Transportation Department said Inflector will be responsible for "hazardous material abatement and disposal, pest control, building demolition, site security, and removal of building service lines."

"Professional services associated with abatement and safe removal of materials and structures is also part of the contract," reads the press release.

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