Ministry of labour raises concerns over asbestos and falling debris.
Concerns about workers’ health and safety delayed the demolition of the former Mayfair Hotel, which city officials now say likely won’t be complete until the end of next week.
Demolition stopped two days later for engineers to assess the effect of the demolition on the adjacent building at 150 King St. W. and was then delayed because of concerns there wasn’t adequate documentation that asbestos had been removed before the demolition.
“This documentation is specific to the MOL (Ministry of Labour), and is above and beyond what was required for the issuance of the demolition permits,” according to a statement from the city.
The Ministry of Labour inspector who came to the site then raised a second concern about the possibility that materials from the half-demolished Mayfair could fall and harm workers.
By late Wednesday, Ministry of Labour officials received the documentation it needed, the city said.
Mike Seiling, Kitchener’s chief building official, said he supplied a statement to the ministry.
“I was inside the building on April 13,” he said. “There was no interior finishes, there was no mechanical equipment inside. It was all either steel, wood frame or bricks.”
Work to install scaffolding resumed Thursday at 156-158 King St. W., the former Hymmen hardware building adjacent to the Mayfair, which is also set to come down, to ensure workers were safe from the risk of falling debris, Seiling said.
Once the scaffolding is in place, workers will begin shoring 150 King, after which demolition will resume on Monday. City officials hope to reopen King Street this weekend to give shoppers better access to downtown stores. The street will close again Monday when demolition starts up again, and likely reopen by the end of the week if work proceeds smoothly.
