Downtown Boone
UPDATE: 8/23/2010
The demolition of the 3 buildings is now complete. The final steps of the demolition project is repair of the sidewalk and seed/sod of the empty lots. Downtown patrons may now use any parking stalls not blocked by fencing or barricades. Some parking stalls may be blocked as sidewalk repair is performed.
The City has title to the land. The future of the site is still under consideration. Various options and ideas have been expressed with no formal proposals at this time. If you have ideas or suggestions you are encouraged to e-mail clerk@city.boone.ia.us
UPDATE: 6/14/2010
The demolition of the 3 buildings downtown is scheduled to begin on July 5, 2010. Preliminary work will begin approximately a week before the demolition begins.
UPDATE: 10/28/2009
Asbestos removal has been occurring at the property at 801 Story Street in an effort to get it ready for demolition. The target time to start the demolition and get the buildings removed has been moved to spring 2010. This is due to current projects and the upcoming holidays.
The demolition will require some street closures and with the current closures around town including the underpass it was deemed prudent to wait to start demolition until after these streets can be reopened. The anticipated time frame to get some of these streets open will push into the holiday season. Most business owners requested that the street closure for the demolition not occur during the holiday shopping season.
There are also some structural issues with the wall between 805 and 807 Story Street that need to be addressed before demolition can begin. This is something that the building owners and associated insurance companies must resolve.
UPDATE: 8/31/2009
801 Story Street (also known as the Meyers Building) property has been officially transferred to the City of Boone.
Asbestos abatement quotes are being accepted by Region XII COG. Once a contractor is chosen asbestos removal at 801 Story St will begin.
Demolition bid documents are hinging upon an engineers report for the marriage wall of 805 Story St and 807 Story St. It appears that the wall is a single unit. This means that some type of support structure will be necessary as part of demolition. Once this issue is resolved a demolition contractor can be sought.
UPDATE: 8/31/2009
A meeting was held with downtown business owners, property owners and tenants. The scope fo the discussion centered around a number of questions concerning demolition timeline and schedule. Below are the results of the survey -
Question: The street in front of your business will likely need to be closed for a period of time. What amount of time would you find tolerable for this project?
Response: A majority of respondents noted a preference for 0-10 days. The second highest response was "whatever it takes."
Question: This demolition project may have unforeseen issues resulting in setbacks of schedules. Do you prefer that construction start this year with the possibility of construction approaching the holiday season?
Response: Half said that we should wait until spring, the other half said we should start ASAP.
A bulk of the meeting was filled with questions about the downtown situation, how demolition could be funded and the timeframe of demolition.
Three Council Members were in attendance. The discussion items will be taken to City Council for further consideration.
UPDATE: 8/13/2009
A planning/strategy meeting was held at the downtown fire buildings site on 8/12/09. In attendance was:
Randy Blohm (Blohm Environmental - Demolition Consultant)
Laurie Gilbert (Region XII COG - Administration Services for NSP Funds)
Qwest Rep.
Tom Inman (Property Owner)
Carl and Dee McKnight (Property Owners)
Waylon Andrews (City Public Works - Water Supply)
Don Batt (City Public Works - Water Supply)
Rob Robinson (City Public Works - Sanitary Sewer)
Hans Boehm (Insurance Agent)
John Rouse (Public Works/Parks Director, City of Boone)
Luke Nelson (Boone City Administrator)
Scott Smith (Boone County Landfill Administrator)
Wayne Schwartz (Boone City Engineer)
Ed Higgins (Boone Building Official)
Matthew Carlson (Boone Municipal Infractions Officer)
At the meeting all aspects of demolition were discussed. Blohm Environmental will be writing bid documents which will then be released for bids by demolition contractors. Randy Blohm had many questions about the site and how demolition should occur. City Administrator, Luke Nelson, will be holding a strategy meeting with surrounding business owners to gather input regarding logistics of the demolition project. The meeting will be held August 24th at 5 p.m. in the City Hall Auditorium.
Current estimates of demolition start is late September. A goal is to have the project complete by November 24th.
Background:
In February of 2009 two buildings caught fire and were completely destroyed. The City of Boone took immediate action to ensure that the buildings will not become a permanent nuisance for downtown. The Building Department took action to call upon a structural engineer to gauge the level of damage and determine what safety hazards, if any, are present. A preliminary report is available here. The fnal report confirmed the need to completely demolish all three buildings. |