At last night’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting, Brian McDonough, attorney for Connelly Construction, addressed the issue of demolishing the Hendries building at 131 Eliot Street. Connelly had been sent an order from Inspectional Services to take the building down due to safety concerns. After further review and discussion Connelly filed a demolition permit with the town on Friday; but there is an issue of timing.
Mr. McDonough had appeared at the Selectmen’s meeting last Thursday and at that time he indicated that his client was disinclined to take down the building as the engineer he had hired to assess the structure indicated the building was secure and did not present a safety issue. However, he reconsidered after meeting with the selectmen and filed an application to take the building down last Friday. The issue now, according to McDonough, is coordinating with the town, which owns a portion of the building (the parking lot and the building above it). The Inspectional Services department had sent him a correspondence that concerned him in that it instructed Connelly to proceed without a plan for coordinating efforts. McDonough said that to leave the town’s portion of the building free standing and remove the rest would result in a more unsafe situation. He argued that it only made sense if both parties took their respective portions down at the same time.
The Selectmen agreed that it made sense to coordinate, however, the town has an issue regarding how they will pay for it. Chairman Hurley said it would need an appropriation at Town Meeting unless the situation could qualify for an emergency provision. It was unclear if that was the case and Hurley asked Town Counsel to review that option. The next Town Meeting is scheduled for October. If the selectmen need Town Meeting approval then the demolition will need to wait until the late fall. The Selectmen also asked that McDonough and Connelly meet with the Building Inspector, Joseph Prondak, to come to agreement on taking down the structure.
Following is a note regarding the engineering reports.
There have been three engineering studies of the Hendries building; two requested by Connelly Construction/Carrick Realty Trust, the developer of the property, and one by the town.
The study by the town prompted the Inspectional Services department to issue an order requesting Connelly Construction to take the building down.
The engineering reports were performed by:
Cowen Associates – contracted by Carrick Realty Trust concluded:
We conclude that the building is stable and not a danger to the public.
We also conclude that the collapse area is largely isolated and the walls on the lot 2 side have been braced by the framing opposite the collapse site
Most importantly, we have determined that the building is viable for future renovation and development
Find the full text here.
Rene Mugnier Associates – contracted by Carrick Realty Trust concluded:
It is our professional opinion that this building can be rehabilitated. Among the structural components of the building, we noticed that the concrete was in relatively good to very good condition with a few necessary repairs by exposing the steel, wire brushing and treating it with Armatek 100, and protecting the steel.
Find the full text here.
Engineers Design Group – contracted by the Town of Milton
In conclusion, the building must either be completely demolished or repaired within a brief time-span. Due to the extent of the work required to repair this structure, it is likely that demolition is the most practical approach.
Find the full text here.