Preliminary procedures to prepare the government-owned Tower Building for demolition have begun.
Lands and Survey Department Facilities Manager Matthew Yow said a contract has been awarded for the first phase of the demolition process, which is the removal of all furniture, fixtures and fittings in the Tower Building.
‘What is happening are efforts to remove everything to get an empty building,’ Mr. Yow said.
The Tower Building, which housed many government departments, was seriously damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. However, it had already been earmarked for demolition because of problems with the building.
After the hurricane, the Tower Building was vacated. The government announced in September 2005 that demolition of the building would start within a few weeks, but a subsequent tendering process produced little interest.
Some of the furnishings inside the Tower Building were damaged beyond repair and abandoned, Mr. Yow said. Everything inside must be removed before the demolition can begin.
Phoenix Construction, one of four qualified bidders for the clean-up job, won the contract. The total contact amount was less than CI$100,000, so the contract bid process did not have to go through the Central Tenders Committee.
The clean-up should be completed by the end of October.
‘It’s a six-week contract period on the clean up,’ Mr. Yow said, adding that the job started on Friday, 14 September.
The next phase of the process will be to tender the demolition contract through the Central Tenders Committee.
Although there are several ways to demolish a building the size of the Tower Building, including by a wrecking ball or explosives, disassembly is the only way the Government has considered, Mr. Yow said.
‘It’s basically a reverse engineering process where the building is taken apart from the top down.
‘It creates a lot less dust, debris and airborne particulates… and it’s probably less of a hazard to the general public.’
The Tower Building is a steel-clad building. Mr. Yow said that as part of the contract, the steel will be recycled and taken off the island.
The government entertained expressions of interest for the demolition project earlier this year.
‘Six companies have expressed interest in the demolition,’ Mr. Yow said, adding that one of companies is same one that got the contract for the removal of scrap metal from the landfill.
After the tendering process and award of the contract, it will take an estimated three months to complete the demolition.
Mr. Yow said as part of the contract, the Tower Building property will be levelled ‘so it can be used in the future’.
The government originally said the property would be used for a public green space, but later said at least a part of it could be combined with the Legislative Assembly property for additional parking. Mr. Yow said the government would decide what to do with the property.
Although he has not been in the Cayman Islands for very long and could not say for sure, Mr. Yow said he understood the Tower Building – at 60,000 square feet under roof – will be the largest building every demolished in the Cayman Islands.
Mr. Yow, who also is the facilities manager for the Glass House, confirmed that the plan is still to demolish that building as well, once the adjoining Government Office Accommodation project is competed.
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