With new safety measures in place, demolition of Green plant could resume next week
Project, stalled 3 months by concerns for workers, should not delay redevelopment, officials say
By Marty Toohey AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Published: 8:56 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010
After being stalled for nearly three months amid worker-safety violations, the dismantling of the downtown Thomas C. Green Water Treatment Plant could resume as soon as next week.
City officials have accepted a revised proposal from the contractor hired to perform the demolition, said Cynthia Jordan, a city official overseeing the project. The work is now scheduled to be finished by the end of summer, about six months behind schedule.
"We're treating this as a start-over," Jordan said. "The most important thing to us is and has been making sure we have a safe site."
The city hired contractor Austin Filter Systems to clear the treatment-plant site and prepare it for redevelopment. A mix of shops, condominiums, offices and shops is planned.
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At the city's insistence, Austin Filter Systems fired the two subcontractors it deemed responsible, Hunter Demolition and Benitez Construction . The city also decided late last month to set aside an additional $525,000 to extend the contract of URS Corp., a firm handling engineering and safety inspections at the site.
Jordan said
the delays will probably not affect the completion date for the Green redevelopment.
Last month, Fred Evins, the city employee overseeing the redevelopment, said
Trammell Crow , the company selected by the city to carry out the redevelopment, had been having difficulty securing financing and probably would not be ready to start until the economy rebounds.
mtoohey@statesman.com; 445-3673
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