Demolition of Northern Frontier Visitors Centre begins

Demolition has begun on the problem-plagued Northern Frontier Visitors Centre in Yellowknife.

In an email, spokesperson for the territorial Department of Infrastructure Greg Hannasaid crews are working on tearing down parts of the building's interior this week.

On April 30, demolition of the outside of the building will begin. It's expected to take four days after which material from the site will be removed.

Yellowknife based Ace Enterprises Ltd. won the $225,000 contract for the demolition.

The Northern Frontier Visitors Centre has stood abandoned since May of 2017, when it was shuttered over safety concerns arising from structural issues attributed to shifting permafrost.

Last August, the territorial government made the decision to tear down the building after it was found to be the "best value option" given its "deteriorating condition."

It said there was "significant damage" to the structure, including the exterior and interior walls and windows.

The department said salvaging the whole building and renovating it would cost about $8.2 million, and there would still be a significant risk of movement at the foundation.

• From May 2019:N.W.T. gov't still considering what to do with Yellowknife's abandoned visitor centre

The Northern Frontier Visitors Association ran the visitors centre until it was condemned. The organization disbanded shortly thereafter.

The City of Yellowknife took over visitor services in the fall of 2017, and has been operating a visitors centre out of the ground floor of city hall ever since.