Gatke Building Virtually Asbestos Free
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
It's always nice to find out things aren't as bad as what was feared.
The city of Warsaw and Kosciusko County could be heard breathing a collective sigh of relief Monday, when initial environmental testing results came back that the old Gatke Corp. building at 2321 W. Winona Ave. contained no free-floating asbestos.
Removing and disposing of asbestos dust and particles that were thought to be pervasive in the facility, closed since 1993, won't be necessary, according to Warsaw Building Inspector Pam Kennedy.
"The city believed the site was just covered with asbestos, but it's not," she said. "This is very good news."
Kennedy received the good news from Karla McDonald, director of redevelopment services for Quality Environmental Professionals Inc., who was at the site conducting the second phase of site evaluation and testing before the demolition of the old brake pad and clutch plate manufacturing facility.
"Asbestos we've found is at very low levels. And we haven't found any free-floating asbestos," McDonald said. "Right now, all we're looking at is floor tiles, insulation and some of the roofing materials."
The absence of serious asbestos contamination will dramatically reduce the clean-up costs, Kennedy said. The city has used approximately $50,000 in grant money to fund both phases of the evaluation and testing.
"Not having the asbestos is going to dramatically cut the cost of demolition. The firms we've talked to with this size facility to clear asbestos had costs of $3 million to $4 million just for asbestos removal," she said.
McDonald said her crew should complete on-site Phase II work this week and have the final report done by July.
"If we find any traces we'll use the fall grant money to complete the clean-up," she added. "Hopefully, we'll find out today that there wasn't as extensive contamination as we first thought."
Kennedy said the city is working to forgive the $300,000 in back taxes owed to the county on the property. Once the evaluation and demolition are complete private-sector in-vestors possibly will clean up and redevelop the site.
"We'll pay the cost of doing the demolition. If anyone has a better idea for doing something with it, other than demolishing it, they'll have to pay the architectural and engineering costs to rehabilitate it," Kennedy said. "Often, though, it's cheaper to demolish than renovate." [[In-content Ad]]
It's always nice to find out things aren't as bad as what was feared.
The city of Warsaw and Kosciusko County could be heard breathing a collective sigh of relief Monday, when initial environmental testing results came back that the old Gatke Corp. building at 2321 W. Winona Ave. contained no free-floating asbestos.
Removing and disposing of asbestos dust and particles that were thought to be pervasive in the facility, closed since 1993, won't be necessary, according to Warsaw Building Inspector Pam Kennedy.
"The city believed the site was just covered with asbestos, but it's not," she said. "This is very good news."
Kennedy received the good news from Karla McDonald, director of redevelopment services for Quality Environmental Professionals Inc., who was at the site conducting the second phase of site evaluation and testing before the demolition of the old brake pad and clutch plate manufacturing facility.
"Asbestos we've found is at very low levels. And we haven't found any free-floating asbestos," McDonald said. "Right now, all we're looking at is floor tiles, insulation and some of the roofing materials."
The absence of serious asbestos contamination will dramatically reduce the clean-up costs, Kennedy said. The city has used approximately $50,000 in grant money to fund both phases of the evaluation and testing.
"Not having the asbestos is going to dramatically cut the cost of demolition. The firms we've talked to with this size facility to clear asbestos had costs of $3 million to $4 million just for asbestos removal," she said.
McDonald said her crew should complete on-site Phase II work this week and have the final report done by July.
"If we find any traces we'll use the fall grant money to complete the clean-up," she added. "Hopefully, we'll find out today that there wasn't as extensive contamination as we first thought."
Kennedy said the city is working to forgive the $300,000 in back taxes owed to the county on the property. Once the evaluation and demolition are complete private-sector in-vestors possibly will clean up and redevelop the site.
"We'll pay the cost of doing the demolition. If anyone has a better idea for doing something with it, other than demolishing it, they'll have to pay the architectural and engineering costs to rehabilitate it," Kennedy said. "Often, though, it's cheaper to demolish than renovate." [[In-content Ad]]