Buildings
Building Demolition Begins in New Orleans
(archrecord.construction.com - 03/13/2006)
By Angelle
Bergeron
 |
Photo: Associated Press |
Photo: Courtesy Angelle Bergeron
|
Demolition in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.
Photo: Courtesy Angelle Bergeron |
Building demolition in New Orleans has
just begun, while rebuilding efforts in the city continue
to be stymied by uncertainties. Meanwhile, preservationists,
architects and structural engineers are still hard at work
trying to save the city's historic neighborhoods and significant
structures from demolition.
On March 6 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
began tearing down the first 125 homes in the city that had
been identified as a "risk to public health and safety."
These were slated to be destroyed by the end of the month,
says John Fogarty, assistant area engineer tasked with debris
removal and demolition for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Structures in the first wave of demolition were located in
public rights of way, and the majority were in the Lower Ninth
Ward neighborhood, Fogarty said.
"Initially, 5,500 homes were red-tagged,
and half of those were deemed at risk of imminent collapse,"
says Malana Joseph, a spokesperson for Mayor C. Ray Nagin's
office. Demolition was stalled by a January civil suit, filed
by residents who argued that the proposed demolition would
violate their constitutional rights. A Federal Court ruling
allowed the city to proceed with demolition, but only after
following specific guidelines to notify owners. The delay
won enough time for preservationists and the city's Office
of Safety and Permits to re-evaluate structures. They cut
the list in half.
"In the early days, there were
all kinds of rumors going around saying 50,000 homes were
going to be demolished," says Kevin Mercadel, program
officer for the New Orleans office of the National Trust for
Historic Preservation. Fears were justified, considering that
initial assessments were conducted under emergency debris-removal
contracts let by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Mercadel says the responsibility for assessing damaged properties
then filtered down through numerous subcontracts, until it
became difficult to determine who actually tagged properties,
andwhat criteria they used. He adds that most inspectors did
not have construction expertise. "They were red tagging
buildings left and right and we couldn't figure out why."
|
Fearing that historic structures would
be hastily destroyed, the New Orleans Preservation Resource
Center (PRC) partnered with the National Trust for Historic
Preservation to organize volunteer architects and structural
engineers from across the country to re-evaluate properties.
Mike Centineo, director of the city's Office of Safety and
Permits, personally inspected 5,500 tagged building and reduced
the citywide number to 1,900, Mercadel said. "We identified
369 red tagged in historic districts, and 199 of those can
be saved."
The former home of jazz musician
Kidd Skidmore, at the corner of Deslonde and Rampart Streets
in the historic Holy Cross neighborhood, is one building that
was spared demolition. Mercadel says that home had been red-tagged
because the front wall was separated from the structure, a
problem caused by bad repairs that occurred before Katrina.
"It's a simple repair that requires jacking it up, repairing
the wall and re-attaching it," says Mercadel.
Like the Skidmore house, many of the
red-tagged structures were in poor condition prior to Katrina,
including termite damage, rot, or poor construction, Mercadel
says. Much of that is easily repaired.
It seems nothing in the New Orleans
is moving quickly, not even the demolition, so preservationists
will likely have ample time to rescue more structures. Images
of vast acres being bulldozed into oblivion are readily squashed
by the reality of the painstakingly, deliberate demolition
process. This process must take into account human remains,
hazardous materials like asbestos and air conditioner refrigerant,
and the risk that falling buildings may cause injuries.
Waste disposal is also becoming a concern.
At an estimated 275 cubic yards of debris per home, the Corps
is concerned that approved landfills may max out before demolition
is complete. For now, demolition is in a holding pattern until
the widely dispersed owners of the next 2,100 identified structures
can be notified the Corps' Fogarty says.
|
